Freedom's Ring
by DFMRCV
Summary: A cruel and unforgiving world, an enemy of unclear origin hellbent on finishing a war of extermination, its victims and their desperate attempts at resisting proving just as futile as the hopes of the men who led them. Many died and would continue to die, none of them doubted that reality. But what if...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Contact**

* * *

Her dark hair swayed silently in the breeze in a stark contrast with the horrific screams that filled the air around her.

She had survived, somehow.

It was almost coincidental when one thinks about it, but right then she had no time to think about the odds of her being just out of reach of the swarm that had engulfed her squad. The monstrous humanoids that had come from the nearby forest continued to chew apart what remained of her brothers and sisters in arms as she forced herself to watch it happen. One of her not yet dead comrades tried to dodge one of them only to be grabbed and promptly stuffed into an open mouth by another, his screams quickly joining the cacophony of wails that came from dying soldiers.

She was the only one left.

Her horse had run off earlier, dumping her into a small stream as it had been spooked before disappearing from sight; whistling to it now would only attract the attention of the monsters nearby. She had no way of communicating with the rest of the formation without the flares that were still in the old farmhouse, and her 3D Maneuver gear, a soldier's lifeline in these lands, had been badly damaged when she had fallen.

Deep down she knew there was no stopping what was coming, and nobody would blame her for just staying there and turning a broken blade on herself, preferable to waiting for the screams of her comrades to cease, hoping that, once that had concluded, her demise would be quick unlike their own.

She dumped anything that wasn't necessary or broken and ran instead.

Nobody could blame her for trying to run, though some might have called it naive.

The enemy was slow, which didn't mean a lot when most of them were the size of a house and their footsteps were enough to clear a city street in the time it took a person to run the distance, but if she could get enough distance between them…

Maybe it would be long enough to write down what had happened?

In fact, why wait?

Removing the small notebook from her breast pocket, she began scribbling down what had transpired only moments ago, the sun setting behind her.

"My name is Ilse Langnar. I am part of the 34th Expedition beyond the walls, Second Battalion, in charge of perimeter defense. On our way back, we encountered some Titans. I lost everyone in my squad…"

She continued writing as fast as she could, perhaps her one talent, while running away.

She wasn't sure how far she had gone before she decided to take shelter in the thick forest nearby.

The sun had set, and a heavy rain was beginning to fall. She hid inside a large tree where hopefully she would go unnoticed until morning. The enemy was mostly inactive at night, but without any lanterns, and such heavy rainfall, the last thing she needed was to accidentally stumble upon an abnormal that didn't mind that there was no sunlight.

The rain continued late into the night, and while no sane person could manage sleep under such circumstances, once the rain settled to a drizzle, the young member of the Survey Corps managed to close her eyes for a little while. Yes, there was exhaustion, but it was her training, really. The facts of the corps and its high mortality rate were never once sugarcoated. Most new members didn't make it past their first expedition, and sometimes those who did wished they hadn't. In fact, what happened to her entire unit, all her brothers and sisters, every last one of them, had also happened to countless other units or squads, a sole survivor occasionally managing to retreat to give word to the main body. The only difference was that she had no horse to retreat with and by this point, the rest of the expedition was probably well within the walls, safe and sound.

Like many before her, she would likely be forgotten in a day or two by the officers, and if life was good, a year by her family. She was too tired to focus on the fact that she was actually _hoping _her family forgot about her quickly.

_But then again, they had hopefully been prepared for such an outcome._

That was an undeniable fact in this world and one she knew well enough by now, the high mortality rate was something every family member of a Survey Corps scout had to get used to.

Her thoughts lingered on her family, she wondered if they would accept her loss, she wondered if there was any hope of seeing them again, desperately wanting to cling to the possibility that there was, but also knowing full well her chances were too low to hold such high hopes.

Her thoughts were a chaotic whirlwind as they went in circles over the logic, wanting to live while knowing it was impossible forced her eyes open once more as the rain let up, taking her notebook and scribbling a little more in the darkness before closing it again for the night.

_Writing in this notebook is more important than just confirming what happened…_

But despite all of what had happened that day, or most likely because of it, in the relative quiet of the night, and in the perceived security of the tree, she managed to get some rest.

She would need it if she wanted any chance to return to the walls.

…

The rumbling woke her up.

Her eyes shot open only for the early morning sunlight to briefly make it difficult to see as it shined off the humid leaves nearby, casting little rays of light on the shaded area below the tree, as if the water drops were reflective gems or tiny crystals.

It would almost be a pretty sight if she wasn't in danger, and she didn't need to see well to know it.

Even if she had kept her eyes shut, there was no mistaking the booming noise those monsters made every time they took a step.

The smile was the first thing she really noticed in the distance. Just about every one of these abominations maintained a cruel, mocking grin that spread from cheek to cheek, almost as if someone had taken hooks to their mouths and pulled them back as far they could before freezing them like that. Even in the shade of the large trees it was a noticeable feature. Their other most recognizable characteristic was that their form, if compared to normal humans, would be one of mostly malnourished or even deformed bodies with disproportionate arms legs, or even heads.

And that was ignoring the massive size of most of them.

More than a dozen of the large monsters were slowly making their way towards her from deeper in the forest, somewhat struggling against the natural blockade of the trees and thick brush, but that would only hold them for so long.

She allowed the slightest whimper to escape before standing up and running back out into the open field.

This had to be it. Her entire plan had relied on her capability to avoid any titans between her and the walls.

She could only run for so long before they caught up to her.

Notebook and pencil out, she began to write down whatever she could think of as fast as she humanly could.

"I have encountered multiple twelve meter tall titans- they're caught in the thick forest, but they are forcing me to run south, away from the walls… even if I could run forever, eventually…"

It dawned on her once more that she would never see her parents again, never enjoy the simple things in life again, never meet that special someone, never have a life beyond a file in the military's record office that maintained that she had been "Missing in Action" until her notebook was found… _if_ it was found. She would contribute nothing to humanity.

Her legs hurt, her shoulders ached, and she began to tear up as despair tried to pull her down further.

But still she tried to push herself up a slight hill, quickly turning to look behind her without stopping.

She didn't need to count to know how abysmal her odds had to be. Though still struggling to come out of the forest, the slow moving, towering humanoid creatures were ever so slowly advancing after her. a hopeless situation if ever there was one.

But hope is a finicky thing that won't die so easily…

She needed to keep running, even if they were making her go in the opposite direction.

Maybe she could cut them off.

She willed herself to run just a little further, going down the hill and beginning to run up another.

She stopped suddenly, almost dropping her notebook.

She stood dumbfounded as she suddenly found herself in front of a structure that hadn't been there four seconds ago.

It somewhat reminded her of the temples the Cult of the Walls had built in some areas, but the design looked far more ancient and grand than anything she had ever seen in the walled enclaves of humanity.

Pure, white marble columns held up a roof that from her position looked triangular, not unlike most houses in her hometown had, but the fact that it appeared to be green and clearly shone off the morning sunlight implied that it was made of emerald or some other form of precious mineral. The scale of it was just as impressive as the material it was made of, since it was at least twenty meters high. Despite all that, no light emanated from within, as if the inside of the structure absorbed all light and didn't reflect any of it back, leaving only a pitch black and empty darkness.

Said pitch black opening stood silently ahead of her, with no sign as to where it led.

She had never seen anything quite like it in her life and she wondered how she had missed it before. It should have been visible from the forest she ran from the previous day.

_Would have made a fine place to rest, too…_

But then again, she had been so distracted by the monsters behind her that maybe she didn't notice? Human minds could be so focused on something they would miss huge things, after all. She had heard stories of veterans focusing on getting a titan kill only to be grabbed and devoured by a second of the monsters they had missed.

Regardless, she couldn't stay there.

The enemy was advancing and their footsteps were growing ever louder. She turned to run around the structure and try to escape the monsters when-

"Hm-hm-hm, my oh my, have you found yourself in a conundrum." A sultry voice chuckled before she could continue running forward.

Out of the darkness of the structure a bizarre woman stepped forward. She was hard to describe, as her clothing implied she was a noble, and something about her movements gave an almost ethereal image. She seemed kind and welcoming with the smile and purple lipstick. But despite all that, there was darkness in her voice which made the young girl's hair stand on end. The long, jet black hair and magenta eyes made her seem more threatening than friendly.

Welcoming, but threatening; ghostly but still there… much like the structure the strange woman had emerged from, Ilse had never seen someone like that in her life.

But still, she seemed human… could this be an entrance to a shelter?

She had heard that when the wall fell some people had dug living spaces under the ground. She wondered if she had stumbled across one of these.

"Y-you… I need… help…" Ilse managed to speak as she took several slow breaths, her adrenaline dissipating.

At least until the sound of the enemy finally crashing some trees behind her caused her senses to go into overdrive yet again.

The woman giggled lightly before speaking.

"Your whole world needs help, young one… there is so much death and cruelty here…" she stopped, a serious expression forming on her face before she spoke up again.

"But I don't have much time to waste, I belong to another world, all my own; one which benefited greatly from this gate. I leave it to you and your people now." she said, coming off as an elder passing down advice more than anything else, gently moving her hand across the surface of the marvel columns, completely ignorant of the deadly monsters still pushing out of the forest in the distance.

Or perhaps she didn't care about such trivial matters such as life and death anymore. Ilse didn't know, nor did she think about it too much, especially since the woman was making little sense to her.

"World- Gate? What are you _talking_ about? There isn't any time for-" she began to say, glancing behind her. A few of the larger Titans had tripped coming out of the forest, creating a loud crashing sound, but instead of standing up they had begun to slowly start crawling, which benefited her for the moment. However, as if to even out her good fortune, several other monstrosities further away were suddenly alerted to the commotion and began walking towards her at a slow pace. The ones closest to her were only behind a pair of hills.

"I can see that, but I don't belong here and cannot help you myself right now. My world no longer needs this, thus I leave it to your world and... Well, whoever is on the other side. Rush through it, you will find help at the end of the tunnel, _this_ I can promise. Go!" the woman ordered.

Not wasting time with all her questions, Ilse took a breath, clutched her coat, and ran down the dark corridor, never realizing the woman behind her disappeared with the breeze as if she had been made of dust, the only trace of her was the girl she had ordered to run through the darkness with a vague promise of help on the other end.

That didn't matter to them one bit. All they cared about was the fact that their meal had run off.

The monsters stopped briefly as they approached the structure.

There was no way the sun could reach them in there, even if they fit almost perfectly, and that was a problem for them.

They didn't leave, though.

In spite of that lack of sunlight, after a brief moment, their senses kicked in, and on the other side they knew there was plenty to eat. The unmistakable scent of human pulled them like a group of hungry beasts, which wasn't exactly far off from what they truly were.

But they did not hunger for nourishment.

They hungered for release.

Slowly, but surely, the whole of them struggled in an attempt to enter the gate after the young girl they had spotted, though not because of the size of the entrance. Given their lack of consciousness and self-preservation, several had tried going in at once, wounding and breaking themselves as they tried to push past each other, barely managing that in spite of the size of the structure. Their wounds didn't matter very much, however. All the patches of dried up skin that had been torn away seemed to evaporate as the injuries healed themselves in a timely manner. They had to slow down in the darkness, but if their booming footsteps were evidence of anything, it was that they would cross the distance and catch up to their target soon enough.

They always did.

They were, after all, the top of the food chain in this land.

And none in this world could ever stop them.

…

Ilse didn't stop.

Her heart raced as she figured that the enemy could only be a couple of minutes behind her at the most assuming they were going even slower in the darkness. She might be able to extend that if she continued running, but her legs felt like they would collapse soon.

She still forced herself to go faster, her desperate breaths echoing in the empty darkness.

In the silence of the dark place, the questions she still had begun to nag at her.

_What is this? It isn't a tunnel…_

_Does it matter?! She said it leads somewhere safe!_

_How can it be safe if there are titans behind me?!_

_Maybe there;s a door or something that I can close?_

_What if there isnt?!_

_Figure it out!_

_How much further do I have to run?_

She had been able to see some light in the distance, so she ran towards it, but it was further away than she had expected. Without stopping, she turned her head slightly to look behind her. Sunlight was still coming from the other end, but off in the distance she could faintly hear the enemy's footsteps.

Suddenly a pair of huge shadows seemed to materialize in the entrance she had taken, completely blocking the light behind her.

She still needed to clear a fair amount of distance in a short amount of time and that was all the motivation she needed.

_Help is on the other end, help is on the other end, help is on the other end…_

She had ignored the other comments the strange woman had made, something about not belonging in this world, but since _her_ world didn't need _this_ gate anymore… she didn't know what that meant, but maybe it was just her strange way of saying it would eventually lead to the underground city under the innermost wall, maybe there was an exit or entrance that was open now, but it could be sealed shut soon. Or maybe it was just a shortcut to some other place within Wall Maria, which would make things far more difficult, but slightly less so than her current situation.

Either outcome was preferable to what lay behind her. The "how" was not important at all right now.

As the light in the other end seemed to grow, she began to notice that a strange noise was coming through. Music? People talking?

_People!_

Her pace quickened, and she could see figures in the distance. Whether they were friendly or not didn't occur to her, she just wanted someone, _anyone_, to be there, because where there were people, there had to be at the very least _some_ semblance of civilization. Someone she could give her account to, someone who would hopefully at least know of her fallen comrades if she didn't make it.

_Just a little further…_

Sunlight engulfed her as she ran out of the dark gate. The woman's words echoed through her head, before she looked around.

_I leave this gate to your world and… well, whoever is on the other side._

She had actually expected to be blinded by the sun when she ran out of the massive structure, but there was plenty of shade. This shade, however, wasn't due to any trees or any number of natural causes; no it was something that finally caused her knees to give way.

The first thing she had seen was the strange men in blue jackets with bizarre hats on their heads and tools she didn't really recognize on their belts.

The second thing she had noticed was the large crowd in front of them, all of whom were dressed in rather odd clothes that both seemed to match a sort of trend, and yet didn't at all.

The third thing she had noticed was the tall grey buildings that stretched to the skies and surpassed the height of the walls.

Some by a _lot_.

Some looked to be made out of glass in their entirety, and some had strange screens with moving pictures, all things she had never even dreamed of. Banners that resembled flags flew in many buildings, but one in particular was flown just about everywhere she looked.

A red white and blue banner with fifty white stars that moved with the breeze.

"Aw, Christ, miss, is this part of a show? Does your boss have a permit to perform here?" one of the men in blue asked her.

"Telling you, nothing's scheduled for today." another one told the other.

"Miss, can you hear me? Are you okay?" the third one asked.

Well, she understood them in spite of the strange accent, but she didn't know what to say, staring past them.

She was almost mesmerized by the amount of colors on display around her. The buildings were grey, but on a lot of them shinning lights drew bizarre figures she didn't recognize, along with words she couldn't read and the strange flags she had never seen in her short life were everywhere along with other incredible banners that materialized and vanished on their own. It was as if some invisible person was painting a portrait on a large canvass, but faster and on a larger scale than anything she could ever imagine before erasing it and drawing a different one just as fast.

"_MISS_!" the stranger in blue yelled, startling her.

"Do you have any identification? Can you even understand me?"

"I-I… my identification…" she was at a loss for words.

_They're all wearing the same kind of uniform… are they military?_

"Well, she speaks English, so that's a good sign... Kid, you alright?" the third man in blue approached her and she noticed that he was clearly the oldest amongst them, so he was probably their officer or at least the one in charge.

She stood quickly to attention, startling the men and surprising herself as she figured she would just collapse on the spot.

"I-I-I am Ilse Langnar! S-second battalion, survey corps 34th expedition!" she yelled her identification, doing her best to control the fear in her voice.

The men in blue frowned.

"Alright, Ilse, is this a… college initiation prank…thing?" the oldest one of them asked.

She wasn't entirely sure what he meant by all of that, but she understood that he was asking if this was some kind of joke.

"Prank? No, I am… I'm a scout in the Survey Corps! My squad was… was destroyed by… I… um…" she stopped as the men in blue were looking at her as if she was crazy. Behind them the large crowd was doing… something with odd colored rectangles of different shapes, colors, and sizes. Some were holding them up to their faces for some reason, while others were tapping them with their thumbs and fingers while occasionally looking up, confused or maybe intrigued.

"Alright, Ilse… I'm officer Callahan, New York Police Department… does that mean anything to you?"

_Police __**department**__?_

"I… no… it… doesn't… sir."

She knew of the military police back home, but police departments not attached to the military were as alien to her as the name New York.

_Just… where did I wind up on?_

"Hey is this a play thing?" someone from the crowd asked.

"I-"

"Are you supposed to be from another world?" another voice asked.

The Police officers turned to look at each other, as several people tried asking the strange girl questions, two of them moved past her to analyze the huge structure.

"You ever see anything like this, Cal?"

"Naw, Roe, you'd think the security cameras would've already shown us her setting this thing up." The oldest officer replied.

"Maybe if it was inflatable… but look, it's solid, and… it's pitch black in there." the third one noted.

"Ah, could just be trash bags used to darken the room. But the fact that it isn't inflatable…" the older Callahan tapped the marble columns.

"Feels… legit… hey, dispatch, get some more men down here; see if we can get some of the folks higher up to look at this cause something _weird _is going on." He said, talking into his radio while glancing at his fellow officers.

The other officers nodded, as if adding to the conversation with dispatch, before turning to the girl who seemed to be overwhelmed by the mostly confused crowd asking her questions.

"So… you're not an actress?"

"No! I AM NOT ACTING!" she yelled loudly, finally losing her composure when she was asked for the eighth time if this was a play or an act or whatever the hell these people were asking. She hadn't even been able to warn them about-

"Alright, Miss, if you could come with us we'll take you somewhere you can stay and tell us your story."

The girl suddenly recoiled and turned to look at the pitch darkness.

"They… They were following me through! You have to close that gate now!" she yelled in complete desperation.

_That_ worried the officers.

"They?" Callahan asked.

"Who?" Roe asked.

"The Titans!"

"The _what_?!" all three officers half asked, half exclaimed.

Ilse winced at the men's confusion of the word.

_They've never heard of titans…_

She turned to the gate again and tried to focus under the sound of the city, which was utterly difficult with all the chatter and noises coming from bizarre carriages that didn't seem to need horses.

But it wasn't impossible.

She could faintly recognize the warning sound of the enemy in the distance.

_Heavy booming footsteps advancing towards them… always advancing._

Officer Callahan followed her panicked line of sight and looked into the darkness. He grabbed his flashlight and flipped it on.

Although it could barely reach the distance, it managed to just barely shine on something large advancing towards them. Like a gigantic tree trunk shifting slowly around in the emptiness that no amount of trash bags could effectively recreate.

_Best guess, fifty yards at the least, and moving slow._

As in advancing for a second and pausing before moving again, but still, _something_ big was moving in the darkness… towards them.

"Miss Langnar, in all seriousness, and please be honest… is this a prank?" he asked her. For all he knew this was all an elaborate set up, but the booming noise, and the look of sheer terror on the girl's face was not something _any _police officer could ignore so easily.

"No! I swear to you that the Titans will kill everyone here if they aren't evacuated! Please, I'm begging you, please believe me!" she cried out in desperation.

_Even evacuating this huge place may prove impossible, but we have to try __**something! **__The gate has no doors and there's very little here to close it…and I have no blades or gears to fight with!_

She had run enough, and if the titans followed her here and started killing innocents… she could never forgive herself for that.

Callahan nodded. The absolute desperation in the girl's voice was more than enough for him to know that she was telling the truth about something dangerous.

"Roe! Tell these people to back off we may have a problem."

Roe winced at that. "What are you talking about?"

"Listen… you hear that?" Callahan asked, pointing his flashlight into the dark.

Roe strained himself to listen over all the cars and people talking… in spite of New York;s typical commotion, there _was _something different.

*boom*

*boom*

"Aw, Christ… Everyone! Out! We may have a bomb threat on our hands! Everybody clear out! Clear out!"

"Bomb threat?" the young girl asked taking the opportunity of the dispersing crowd to back away from the soon to be dangerous area near the structure.

"Eh, best way to clear a crowd here… not very ethical, but… Hey, Toby, think you can get a call to HQ, tell them to send some back up out here, we need to Clear people from Times Square, we got a possible security threat."

"Ah- got it!" the younger one gunned it to the white and blue car while Callahan moved to the car.

Ilse heard the man called Callahan grab a little black box that hung from his jacket and speak some numbers and code phrases she didn't understand.

She glanced at the gate again.

_*boom*_

_***boom***_

_Closer…_

She swallowed, a bead of sweat materialized on her forehead as she wondered what she could do to help. Her mind was too panicked, too exhausted to think properly, as she mentally kicked herself for ditching all her blades. At least if she had kept even one she might have bought someone a few precious seconds more than if she didn't have the blades.

She then realized that the area around the gate was clearing out far more efficiently than she could have ever expected. It was chaotic in a way, but controlled as well with several men in blue that had been nearby assisting in the effort to divert people away from what she had heard was a square, though it was nothing like the squares in the towns back home.

She looked around, Callahan had grabbed a strange looking tube that reminded her of a musket, but… it was off somehow.

"A musket will do very little against them." she said; a quiet urgency in her voice.

"Well, Miss Ilse, this is a shotgun, not a musket. And you should probably start getting out of here. Whatever is coming, they're pretty damn slow, but they sound much closer." he said, somewhat calm.

_He really has no idea what they're about to face…_

"Don't let their speed fool you! They're tall, deformed beasts that appear human, but need no nourishment and only exist to devour us!"

_***boom***_

_*BOOM*_

_*BOOM*_

"It doesn't matter where you cut or burn them, they'll grow it back. The only way to kill them is to cut the nape of the neck!" She said, quickly stepping further back, Callahan followed closely as he stood behind the white and blue police car.

"Back of the neck… okay, I get that. Could you shoot it off? Cause I don't know how you fight against… whatever they are." The officer said, now genuinely more nervous than he'd been in a while. He checked the gun, making sure it was loaded.

_***BOOM***_

She was about to answer when the first one materialized as it exited the gate, and Ilse slowly turned, despite her dread, just in time to look in horror at the monster smiling as the natural daylight shone ever so slightly on its dried patches of skin in spite of the large buildings. Its impossibly wide smile looked like a mix of dumb and dangerous, similar to an animal in a way. It had long and skinny arms that appeared to be skeletal while its legs were reminiscent of tree trunks.

It stopped only to take the new surroundings in, not knowing that simply by stepping out of that gate it had broken the fact of life in the United States that no hostile forces had managed to put boots on the ground in the nation in the past two hundred years.

The immediate area around the gate was practically clear, but the officers and a few people still nearby couldn't help but look at the giant out of a mixture of fear and of curiosity as they continued to evacuate the vicinity.

The giant turned to look at a crowd of quickly dispersing humans to its left, its toothy smile frightening them into a slightly faster retreat, though not yet panicked.

"Hey!"

Callahan, half out of fear, half out of worry that shooting that thing might make things worse had yelled at the top of his lungs in an attempt at grabbing the monster's attention. The police officer and Survey Corps scout were a bit closer than the crowd to its left, an easier target in theory.

Still smiling it took a step towards the pair hiding behind the police car. Callahan quickly took a step forward. It was only a few meters away, but he wanted his aim to be right.

"What are you doing?! We have to run!" the girl screamed.

"Step back or I will shoot!" he yelled at the creature, attempting to communicate, keeping one eye on the giant and the other on the gate, as another one seemed to be getting closer. It did let him see the arm, though.

The giant began to reach for him at an unnerving speed, so Callahan backed up and took the shot, smoke and fire spat at the creature, actually hitting one of the eyes and stopping the giant from grabbing him. It took its arm up to its damaged eye…

…and quickly looked back at Callahan with the same cruel grin as a white smoke emitted from the now healing eyeball.

_Not a bit bothered by the damage. _

"Miss Langnar… get in the car… right now." he said as other officers opened up with their smaller handguns.

Ilse was not exactly sure what he meant by car, but he had pointed to the white and blue… carriage?

_Is car short for carriage? NO TIME FOR THAT!_

She complied and hopped in the back of the police car, unable to focus on how much more comfortable the seat was than the horse drawn carriages in her home.

"Roe! T! Come on!" he yelled, shooting the other eye, stunning the monster. The civilians were clear, and most of the other officers were also starting to realize that 9mm rounds weren't really going to do much against these monstrosities and began pulling back, shell casings littering the ground they stood.

Roe ran for the car, near the gate. A second giant stood at full 15 meter height and attempted to grab him. He barely dodged as he approached Cal's car while the first giant covered his damaged eyes.

Toby had simply retreated with the crowd, and no one could blame him, as a large amount of drivers simply abandoned their cars and ran off.

With Roe in the passenger's seat, Ilse in the back, and Callahan driving, the police car quickly reversed and retreated along the other cars that had seen the situation and had quickly tried to drive away, barely maintaining a street open for the police car to chase after the other retreating vehicles. A third giant exited the gate, while the second one attempted to grab an officer who hopped into one of the nearby stores by shattering a window.

The beast stared inside briefly, simply standing there as if dumbfounded. It then pulled its arms back and punched through the fragile glass with enough force to shatter many of the windows in the building without even touching them, the glass flying as if a bomb had gone off.

It did give enough of a distraction for the police car to speed past.

"Eleven-Nine-Nine Emergency, I repeat Eleven-Nine-Nine Emergency! We have hostiles in Times Square! Weird, freaky, gigantic bastards! Need help immediately!" the second Callahan had switched the radio on multiple calls came through in response or requesting assistance from the well refined machine that was the New York Police Department.

"This is Benson, en route."

"Jesus! I see your situation from here, coming up through the 7th now!"

"Got a chopper in the area?"

"Negative, setting one up now."

"Christ Almighty! Officers down! Officer-" a desperate voice came over the radio.

"Officer Cole, do you copy? Officer Cole, respond."

_The fact it cut off at that…_

Callahan glanced behind him as some smoke was beginning to rise from Times Square as an old looking car was tossed into a shop. Not too far away from that, a small crowd of people that had exited one of the buildings was quickly retreating back inside as a giant tried to grab them.

Ilse had covered her mouth in horror as they saw one titan step into the street behind them, gleefully staring down the cars that couldn't go forward and couldn't back up fast enough.

From the front seat, Callahan got her attention.

"Miss, you have plenty of questions to answer."

…

"…so, we were staring down like fifty of these guys, right?" the young man in Army BDUs told the men at the table.

"Six…" his companion groaned.

"Eh, fifty, six, whatever. So Matt had thought the CO will have our asses if we don't at least try to defuse the situation. So what do I do?"

"You called their mother a slut and implied they were all half-brothers or something." the young Army private sighed. His friend was supposed to be on break with him and this was supposed to be a family visit… he did _not_ expect his friend to have so many family members from Chicago willing to travel to their training center in New Jersey.

Or… really anywhere for that matter.

"So… you got your ass whooped by some hillbilly hicks?" one of the men asked.

"What the-?! No! _We_ kicked _their_ asses!"

"By politely requesting they back off before the nice sheriff got there."

His friend groaned as the others on the table laughed.

"You should've joined the Marines. They'd whip you into shape. See, Marines don't take-" the older one managed to say before he started gulping down another bottle of Jack Daniels, cutting his sentence short.

"Alright, come on, Matt, you tell them something we did. Tell us about your combat experience." He said sarcastically, something his stoic friend didn't seem to pick up on.

"Dude, we haven't seen combat. Stop saying we did something more badass than blowing up some targets during practice. Hell, we aren't even due for a joint exercise until… what, next month?"

His friend frowned.

"See, in the Marines we would have you getting into fights much more… often. The army is just full of wannabe-" the older man made a strange face before getting up out of the table and heading to the bathroom.

"See, Matt… now paw's mad. You could've told him his son was out kicking all sorts of-"

"Dude, you're older than me, yet _I'm_ the one that has to rein you in so that you don't get into a brawl at a bar. You know the el tee told me to make sure you don't blow up the ammo supply? Swear to God, Jake, I may not have cool combat tales, but I sure as hell have _plenty_ of stories to make you look bad."

His friend sulked slightly.

"In fact…how about the time you attracted a wild wolf to the camp?"

The other men on the table raised an eyebrow, wordlessly asking for more while Jake rolled his eyes.

_I'll take that as a yes, please embarrass me in front of my visiting family._

"Okay, so… we had our first training exercise in… where, the mountains?"

"Uh… no." Jake mumbled.

"Well, point is Jake here has night shift, and guess what he stumbles across?"

"A wolf?" one of the men on the table asked.

"A _baby_ wolf, which isn't a good sign for you, cause Mom is usually close by. So, Jake, being a gentleman…"

"Ha!"

"He tries to shoo it away by tossing some food into the trees so that it would get distracted… that was your plan, right?"

The older recruit rolled his eyes, not even bothering to answer.

"Anyway, that didn't really bother the pup, but the mom… oh boy, the mom… that-"

The young man stopped mid-sentence as his phone rang.

Jake checked his phone, seeing a message.

"What the hell?"

"Says to report back to-"

"I can read, dumbass!"

The seventeen year old frowned slightly, placed his phone in his pocket before getting up from the table and apologizing to the others for the short notice call back to duty.

Well, base duties, but still.

…

"MP looked spooked to you?" Jake asked.

Matt shook his head, he had turned in his phone and wasn't really sure what was going on. While some drill sergeants in the Army did allow their recruits some cell phone privileges after they earned them, their drill sergeant and subsequent Commanding Officers didn't really see the whole phone thing as a necessity on the fort.

A pair of New Jersey Police helicopters flew low and fast in the distance.

"Hey, something going on?" Jake asked one of the passing men who seemed to be on a hurry.

"Uh, not sure, but they're saying New York is under attack. I'm heading to my bunk to find out."

"Wait, what? No word from the sarge or-?"

"Sarge up and let us go, headed to their briefing room."

Matt frowned. He had been too young to really remember 9/11, but his parents still did and he had witnessed several terrorist attacks in his lifetime from the Boston bombings to the Paris attacks a few years earlier. He swallowed his fears of another 9/11 occurring and moved to where the rest of their platoon was sitting around.

"Matt, Jake, get called back early?"

"Yeah, had to leave the family back there, so this better be more than just some bombings."

"Dude…" Matt and the rest turned to look at their comrade.

"Just saying, terrorists nowadays always do the same damn thing. Go to a crowd, and then blow themselves up, maybe drive a truck into them instead."

"Well, as a Muslim, I apologize we don't use more colorful methods to terrorize whole civilian populations." One of the men said in a sarcastic voice.

"Dave, you're not a Muslim, you're Turkish." Matt sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"Eh, same difference." the man said in an unreadable tone.

The men stood around for a bit before Dave spoke up again.

"So… I think the cafeteria is broadcasting the news… if you guys want to check it out."

"Well, you're all just sitting around here, so…" Jake added.

"Yeah, but that's because the news wasn't really talking about it. They're focusing more on something Kanye said. Knowing our media, that means the attack can range from a stabbing to an attempted bombing." He mocked.

"Oh, I see. And what did Lord West say?"

Matt held in a tired sigh.

He could only hope the situation was _not _so bad that the military had to be called in.

But from the looks of it, maybe it wasnt so bad.

If the news wasnt even talking about it, then maybe it wasnt a big deal.

…

Unbeknownst to the men, the news _hadn't_ been focusing on gossip for the last half hour as news of the situation suddenly became clear and the facts started to come out as the American communication lines were flooded with calls and online forums started digging into camera footage for information.

_But it was someone else's job entirely to go in there and report…_

An ABC news chopper circled around Times Square; the worried Newswoman was unsure how to describe the situation for those still watching far away from the chaos. Flying in lower to get a better picture was not something they wanted to risk. They weren't sure what those things down there were capable of, but they didn't want one getting smart and throwing a car at the chopper.

"Uh, from what I can see, most if not all of the massive, humanoid creatures have sort of stuck to Times Square. It is uncertain at this time what it is they are after, but we can see that at least a few have… at least _tried_ to attack the people in their reach… some around there, n-near the Toys-R-Us have become stuck trying to enter to building. We are being told that those who were unable to escape have hidden in the lower levels of the store- others climbed up to the higher levels, basically as far away as they can get from these creatures… The NYPD has formed a line around Times Square cutting off all traffic to the area, but we aren't sure if that will hold since most of these giants have not made a serious effort to move away from-"

"Well, we got one trying that now…" Callahan groaned as he shut off the car radio. Backup had arrived as other officers blocked the streets with their cars. A single, fat, ten meter tall creature was slowly making its way towards them. Rifle fire from the reinforcements took out its eyes, slowing it down even more, but it still tried to stumble forward, reaching for the buildings on each side of the street as it did so.

Ilse was writing down frantically what was happening, glancing at the armed officers who maintained a sort of controlled chaos as they switched firearms for increasingly larger ones.

"They have a variety of weapons… capable of firing multiple times in rapid succession and with reloading procedures being much faster than the muskets back home… this land is clearly much more advanced than us, but they have no means of fighting the titans that I have found effective as of yet. I can only hope the people in these tall buildings are safe from harm..." she wrote before glancing at the older officer.

"Uh- officer, d-didn't you say you had flying machines?" she asked over the gunshots.

"Yeah, but they're still about five minutes out… you said the back of the neck, right?"

"Yes, but the back is…"

"Noted…" he mumbled, reloading his shotgun.

"Cal, its eyes are getting fixed up…" Roe yelled.

Some of the other officers that carried assault rifles took careful aim and fired several rounds directed at the monster. To everyone's surprise, the giant covered its face with its arms.

"Well… um… didn't you say they didn't have intelligence?" Callahan asked, sounding more inconvenienced than terrified.

"How are you so calm?!" she yelled.

"Well, they're pretty slow and… look, I'm a good actor, can you tell us if there's _any_ other way of stopping them?!" he yelled over the gunfire, some of his desperation bleeding into his words.

Ilse rubbed the throbbing vein on her forehead, trying to formulate a strategy with the weapons available under the cracking of firing rifles near her.

Accurate, but small rounds of ammunition capable of destroying the titan's eyes, fast moving carriages that don't use horses, and flying machines that they don't really have for the moment…

"Um… maybe- you can trip it with your… car?"

They would have to move fast, but it could give them enough time to get around the back and destroy the nape of the neck… assuming the car wasn't crushed. It was a terrible plan, but she genuinely wasn't sure what else would work at this point.

She stopped as she heard a noise similar to the one of the few flying machines surrounding the area, but this one was much closer to the ground.

A white and blue helicopter appeared from behind a building.

"Oh, thank God- Hey! This is officer Callahan, aim for the back of the neck!" he yelled into the radio, the titan ignoring the helicopter for the closer police officers.

"Copy, we received the information earlier. Engaging…"

Ilse stared in awe as a rifleman aboard the helicopter began firing directly at the Titan's nape.

Crack

Crack

Crack

Ilse saw the recoil being exerted on the shooter by the large gun, yet the monster still moved forward.

"Oh- Damn it! Shoot out its eyes again!" an officer yelled, prompting all the officers around her to begin unloading their own weapons, aiming at the face to little avail. Ilse covered her ears as best she could while looking on in horror.

The rounds weren't stopping the monster, who wasn't noticing that his neck was getting punctured by 7.62mm rounds. Add that to the officers on the ground firing everything they had left, the monster seemed to be unstoppable.

_No different from back home…_

"I'm out!" one of the officers yelled, beginning to step back from the approaching giant.

More officers were still en route, but until they arrived the small line of police cars was the only thing standing between the titan and the mostly vulnerable civilians still in the streets not too far away.

Ilse continued to look on in horror, thinking things couldn't get any worse. She had brought a horror to a peaceful land, one where it appeared they had no chance to defeat the enemy that haunted her world.

Callahan's frustrated look as he fired his last round was enough for her.

Even if the police retreated, she would give herself up if it meant buying them some time. That's just how it is, isn't it?

She wasn't some hero of the survey corps, or humanity.

She was supposed to be dead by this point after all.

Her squad had died and given her plenty of time to escape, and that had been mostly dumb luck.

Maybe this time she would buy time for someone else.

"I thought you said the neck-" Callahan's panic brought her out of her almost comatose state of mind.

She was about to tell the men to run away, when the panicked shooting was suddenly replaced by immeasurable relief as the giant suddenly stopped, seemingly confused, and dropped to the ground, a mere five feet away from the police line. Smoke began to emit from the corpse as it very slowly dissipated away.

"Jesus… is it…dead? Well?" one of the officers asked.

She barely managed to nod.

For the second time that day, Ilse allowed herself to collapse to her knees in relief. As the helicopter moved on to shoot down any of the other Titans in the square she overheard Callahan talking on the radio.

"We got one hostile down, repeat, one hostile down…"

Even though there were a dozen or so more of them just a little further ahead, she realized how relaxed the people around her were, a little shaken but still, relaxed. The problem was, she realized, essentially resolved. The Titans couldn't fly, and it appeared the helicopter was capable of flying just out of reach of the taller ones. Ilse found it hard to believe that merely an hour earlier she had been running away from certain doom, delaying the inevitable, but now she was somewhere were the threat of Titans was essentially trivial even if more arrived.

She managed to sit down on the sidewalk, and began taking it all in. she was still shocked at how quickly things transitioned from desperation to relief.

Ilse found that she could breathe much easier.

Now she could focus on the bigger questions.

"Um… officer… Callahan?"

"Yeah?" he said, placing the radio down.

"I… don't know where I am… where this is… or how any of this works…" she said, glancing around.

The old police officer took a breath and sat down next to her.

"Well, to be honest, we don't know where you're from or how any of this happened. How come they only go down if you cut or hit a certain part of the neck?"

"We don't know. In my world, the titans appeared a little more than hundred years ago, consuming almost all of humanity. The survivors were able to find shelter behind the three walls called Maria, Rose, and Sina. Wall Maria fell due to a massive Titan we had never seen before tearing apart its gate. We've been trying to retake the land but…" she nervously sucked in a breath.

The officers looked at the tired girl, patting her back softly, and then turned to look at the street where the helicopter continued to fire from a safe distance and the crashing sound of a titan collapsing would be heard.

"Got another hostile down. Uh… they're kind of moving to us… we got no shot right now. Any other units nearby?" the radio crackled.

"Yeah, this is 2-2, we're a minute out. Hold tight." A response came.

"What kind of insane problem just came knocking on our door?" Roe muttered to himself.

"I don't know, but I can already tell this is the beginning of something…"

Ilse raised an eyebrow at the older cop.

"Well, you'll find out soon enough, but throughout my life our country- hell, this world, has had plenty of crazy challenges thrown at it, and so far we've managed to come up on top. Things will be alright."

She looked at the officer as more helicopters flew in to assist.

That was the first time Ilse had actually believed that the phrase held truth.

…

Matt stared in disbelief at the images coming from New York.

On paper the casualties didn't sound all that bad and the damage mostly involved several broken cars and windows, nothing unusual from that. Deaths were few, and the injured were mostly due to the people running from Times Square.

But the deaths had been horrific.

"Six officers of the NYPD lost their lives earlier today combating hostile forces of unknown origin… these… giants is the best way to describe them, appeared out of a structure that as of this moment, no one is sure where it came from. Camera footage shows the Romanesque structure quickly materializing in the middle of Times Square, you later see a single person who briefly spoke with the nearest police officers, seemingly warning them of the incoming threat, saving countless lives in doing so. The identity of the person has yet to be identified. What this means for our nation and the world…"

"Yeah, lost their lives... Nice way to put torn apart and eaten alive by giant freaks from another world…" Dave groaned as the cafeteria's TV continued to review the events in question.

Jake was quiet, staring at his palms.

"So… we got a portal in Manhattan that leads to God knows where, and the first visitors include a scared girl and about twelve gigantic monstrosities that stumbled around the nearby area before being gunned down, which leaves us with a scared girl, six dead cops plus several wounded civvies, and a portal to another world… now what?"

"Well, I say we go in there, nab ourselves some more scared girls and-"

"Dave, seriously… the COs have all been out of sight the past three hours… how long until they show up to tell us we have guard duty over there or something like that?"

Dave pointed behind him as the door opened and the officers entered the room.

Lieutenant Troy wasn't someone who enjoyed the jokes made about Army Lieutenants being blind graduates that didn't have any idea how to actually lead and had only gotten their rank thanks to passing a simple test.

So he had made sure to live up to the stripes on his uniform by trying to be as competent an officer as he could.

And now he had orders to give.

His first orders that were actually serious, really.

"I'm sure you all know by now… things are happening in our neighbor state…"

The men in the room nodded.

"I was told New York's National Guard would be keeping the area under lockdown until we can understand more of the situation, but be advised… we might be joining them soon enough. Maybe even going through…"

_That_ surprised the troops.

Realizing he shouldn't have said that last part, the lieutenant backpedaled immediately.

_So much for breaking stereotypes… damn it all…_

"Now, this isn't confirmed, but we are some of the closer units to the area, and when the Marines go in the Army always backs them up with the heavier equipment, something they will need in order to stop the threats on the other side… so, if the announcement comes I want all of you to be mentally prepared to move out. Other than that, things will continue as per usual… now, about that joint exercise in Canada…"

…

Ilse stared at the room she had been given, or better put, placed in. It was in a very clean and pristine looking hotel known as the "Marriot" and the men that brought her there had been very polite. The place was genuinely something she had only seen in books, and at the same time more. It was small, but the quality of the furniture made it look just as good if not better than what the residents of the innermost wall had.

She could not ask for a better place to rest if she tried, but she was still a bit bothered by what had followed after the Titans had been taken care of.

Several men in strange suits that seemed to wrap up the wearer in a manner similar to a bubble had taken her and the police officers to an area where she was checked over. They had explained that they were worried she might have carried some illness over from her world, which while not impossible certainly seemed improvable in her mind. Still, they insisted in keeping her under observations until they were sure she wasn't carrying something.

_Or was susceptible to something from this world…_

It was made clear she wasn't carrying anything fairly quickly as she was allowed to leave as the sun set, with comfortable new clothes to boot. Men from a group called EFF-BEE-EYE picked her up and asked her some questions as they drove her to the hotel, but even the questions surprised her.

What's your name?

Did they treat you okay back there?

How are you feeling?

What do you like to eat?

She frowned as she sat down on the impossibly comfortable bed. She was a soldier, one of the best of her trainee squad, a member of the Survey Corps, trained to go into the unknown and face the monsters that loomed over humanity, and they were treating her like a little girl. She didn't mind the provisions she was being given, though.

What bothered her was not being able to go back and bring help fast enough.

Suddenly, a possible way to not only seal wall Maria again, but to destroy the titans once and for all was within grasp. She still had no idea what this world was capable of bringing out when it came to firepower, but the fact was that simple flying machines and powerful guns were more than enough to stop the titans in their tracks.

But right now she couldn't do any of that.

It was frustrating, being exposed to such technology and weapons and being just as helpless to help her people as she had been back in that field.

She didn't want to think about it, but now that she was safe, it was hard not to remember her fallen comrades.

_My helplessness…_

Before her emotions got the best of her, there was a knock on the door.

Ilse walked over to open it and found some of the men that drove her over with a white bag that had something written on it in green lettering.

_Have to get deciphering this written language… _

"I wasn't sure what you would enjoy more since you don't really have a favorite food, but Subway has some pretty good sandwiches so I figured you might like at least one of these." The young man said.

She looked skeptically at the wrapped up pieces of bread with reds and greens among other ingredients on it. Some she recognized, others she had no clue what they were.

One was what the agent called a "steak and cheese". She recognized the ingredients and went for it first.

Her eyes widened in delight and surprise as she had never tasted something so delicious in her life.

She had expected this to be simple bread with some meat and cheese on it, but the taste, the quality, the warmth… She genuinely wondered if this was food for royalty.

"I… why are you treating me so…?" she began to ask after a moment of savoring the delicious meal.

The man whose name she didn't know by memory raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this… you helped us quite a bit back there, and- hell, thanks to you, casualties were at a minimum. The least we can do is give you a place to stay and some food."

"But this is all so much. I feel like royalty and… I don't really deserve to feel like that." she said sadly.

The man frowned.

"Your world… is nowhere near as advanced as ours?"

She nodded.

"Life is peaceful for the most part… but most of us that join the corps aren't expected to live very long… my whole unit found that out…" she said quietly.

"I'm truly sorry to hear that. Not sure if you've noticed yet, but while tragedies happen here, they're all very different. Humanity has been at the top of the food chain for thousands of years, and even in areas where we're not at the top we have the weapons to keep ourselves safe if we visit them. I can't imagine how hard it is out there." The man said, seemingly uncomfortable with the subject.

It had been thousands of years since humanity was lower on the food chain, he couldn't imagine a world where that was still the status quo.

"Um… then… you can help us? Humanity has been on the defensive for a hundred years in my world and the titans have only gotten closer to driving us into extinction these past few years… I can already tell you have the power to make sure those who gave their lives didn't die in vain. Your people can-"

"Sorry, but you're talking to the wrong guy. The Secretary of Defense, congress, the President… they're the ones that decide what happens next, I'm just a government servant." the man said, raising a hand.

"Congress? The President?" she asked, now more than a little confused.

…

The American president stared at the report on his desk. On the wall nearby, Fox News anchors were discussing the events of the last twelve hours while showing live footage of the NYPD setting up barricades while Army engineers rapidly constructed a structure over the large gate in order to prevent other hostiles from exiting into the city.

"…the question now is do we go in there? Initial reports from police as well as footage from civilians confirm that humans exist on the other side; the girl that exited the gate before these… things proves it. So maybe we have a doorway to a nation in need; something that could probably benefit us."

"Well, that's one way to look at it. I think caution would be more advisable since we have no idea where this gate came from, no idea how long it will stay here, no idea how it connects to some other world or dimension or wherever it leads… personally, I say we wait a bit before any action is taken."

"Well, that sounds reasonable, maybe we could send some scouting parties ahead, see if-"

The president shut off the TV.

Today was not supposed to go like this at all. He was originally planning on heading out to a meeting with NATO leaders in order to discuss budget issues and he had planned on pissing off the leaders of the European countries investing less of their required GDP on defense.

It should have been easy, fun even… hell; it would piss off the opposition and strengthen his own base.

But now that job was in the hands of the soft spoken vice president and everyone knew the most _that_ guy would do was politely remind the NATO leaders that the US paid much more than most of them in the defense of Europe as a continent and that it wasn't a very fair deal that most European countries didn't pay as much and leave it at that.

Assuming the budget remained a topic of discussion after today, of course.

But no, suddenly some weird gate that looked to have been built during the classical era just appeared in the middle of New York and a bunch of giant naked monsters started chasing people around. He had always figured that if some major crisis were to happen during his presidency it would have been much more serious than this, but so far only half a dozen people had been killed, and while there were plenty of injured it was nowhere near as bad as some of the areas hit by natural disasters he had to send federal aid to.

_The problem is that portal in New York…_

"So, boys, caution or action?" he asked the military advisors and scientific team assembled in the room. All of whom were somewhat stunned by the simplicity of the statement.

As if the president cared more about how this affected his schedule more than how it affected decades of scientific hypothesis and rewriting.

But some appreciated him for that very attitude.

"We would like to wait a while, Mister President. We need to get the materials ready, we need information of what we're dealing with on the other side… plus, the risk of the portal disappearing is a very real worry we have."

"Yeah, the last thing we need is a bunch of our boys stuck in the middle of nowhere with no backup…" the president muttered.

"We could prepare a recon team that goes in and out real quick. Send some drones first to get a good idea of what's on the other end…" an advisor suggested.

"That could work. We could monitor the gate; see if it gets affected in any way by the brief traffic." One of the scientists said.

"Great, great, approve that mission. What about these naked weirdos, what's their deal?"

It took a while, but the NYPD had essentially managed to handle them once their weakness was known.

_They sure as hell weren't an organized force…_

"Well, we have some information from the girl that came out of the gate this morning."

"She speaks English, right?"

"Accented English, some strange mix of British, French, maybe even some German oddly enough, some words have more of an accent than others, but yes sir. She says that all that is known for sure about these giants, titans she calls them, is that they appeared about a hundred years ago and quickly drove humanity to near extinction since the only way to kill them is by cutting the nape of the neck, something that wasn't known at the time. What was left of mankind retreated behind three major walls, where they reside to this day. Uh..." the man flipped through several sheets of papers, transcripts of the interview the girl had undergone but a few hours earlier.

Finding what he was looking for, he continued.

"About three years ago, a Titan larger than the walls broke through the outermost one, causing humanity to lose a third of its land and a good chunk of its people as the campaigns to take it back have resulted in total disaster. Miss Langnar is part of a branch of the military whose job it is to survey the land beyond the walls called the Survey Corps. Her unit was destroyed by a group of titans they encountered."

"Awful… send her my regards- actually no, let me know when she's available, I'll call her myself… Now, no one has found that huge titan again?" the president asked.

"According to her, no. Some believe it was an abnormality that was too large and died on its own. There are, after all, multiple titan types."

The president nodded before changing the subject.

"Her people don't have _any_ modern technology?"

"Mr. President, the way she describes it, they're barely out of the medieval ages and early industrial age. They have muskets for the military garrisons, but the primary weapons they use are these things called 3 dimensional maneuver gear, which seems to involve a complex system of gas, hooks, and gears that allows them to fight the titans by grabbing onto trees or buildings and using special blades in order to cut the neck. She lost hers during her retreat, so we don't have much to analyze other than her own description of the things."

The president nodded.

"What kind of government do they have?"

"An absolute monarchy from the way she describes it. They have some pretty strict laws when it comes to the heads of government, but despite these she says the current king is rather appreciated by the population."

The president's eyes lit up.

_That could work…_

A land ruled by a king where the people lived in fear of being eaten alive by deformed humanoid giants that lived just outside their walls sounded like the perfect situation for America to swoop in and save the day.

"Say we send troops in there… what would we do against these giants?"

"Well, from the footage from New York, we saw one titan try to get a person hiding in a car. It managed to flip the car, break it a bit; but the titan was unable to grab the person inside, though that was seemingly due to lack of coordination; some appear to be dumber than others. Another camera shows us that while they had no trouble shattering the glass on windows and even breaking some cement columns, these titans were unable to seriously damage the surrounding buildings, and that's without mentioning their disorganized actions. I say we send armored battalions as a spearhead, with mechanized infantry with heavy weapons as backup. Once the men have established a Forward Operating Base, we can send light attack helicopters and other aircraft in order to conduct much more effective strikes. Once we clear the Titans from the surrounding area we will go ahead and seal the damaged wall. Hopefully by then we would've at least established some contact with the locals, but if we don't, we can always just march in there and tell them how we reclaimed their lost land after a few quick days. Gain their trust that way."

The president nodded.

There was no visible downside to this if the gate didn't close down.

Send the troops, clear the area of titans, seal the wall, march in as heroes, get tax breaks and establish business deals that benefit both parties, giving the US a much better deal before including other nations to it of course, and selling weapons to a nation, nay, a world that needed the firepower… not bad, not bad at all…

_All that was needed was for that gate to stay in place and not disappear._

…

Matt tried his hardest to keep himself from shivering too much. The lightly chuckling Canadian soldiers a few meters- YARDS- to his left were standing around in the snow like it was nothing. He knew they were laughing at him, no one else to laugh at nearby, but he couldn't blame them. He was supposed to be standing straight as he kept watch during the night along with the Canadians, but he had slung his carbine on his back in order to wrap his arms around himself, he kept his legs together and bent slightly in a desperate attempt at keeping somewhat warm, which in it of itself was futile.

In short, he looked stupid.

"Quit fighting the cold, just embrace it!" one of them said smiling kindly, seemingly not bothered at all by the low temperatures.

_These people are half ice…_

Matt kept quiet. No need to open his mouth to talk since the balaclava would probably muffle what words he had in mind. It wasn't a problem for the Canadians; they had their basic winter gear and seemed to be just fine with it. Meanwhile the Americans had their own winter gear and some extra stuff families sent, but some still felt it wasn't anywhere near enough for the cold temperatures of the Canadian wilderness.

_Damned Joint training exercises…_

The American and Canadian joint exercise up north was both good and bad news from what he understood.

On the one hand, that meant that things were going on as normal; life went on even _after_ a portal to another world opened up in New York City.

On the other, hand, a last minute addition of American Armor had been added to the exercise, which wasn't exactly unusual, but he wondered if that was confirmation that the higher ups were indeed planning to send forces through the gate.

Or maybe they were just sending some of the rookie tankers to train just because they didn't have enough experience. It could be that. But every minor change was now being speculated of being related to the gate opening.

MRE shortage? Probably due to the gate.

Training involving AP rounds instead of the regular ones? Probably due to the gate.

Jake can't find any good girls in the God forsaken tundra? Gate.

With nothing to really bother them in the dead winter of northern Canada, Matt eventually found himself doing very little until the next morning, where he was getting breakfast at the cafeteria.

_So cold not even the Polar Bears try to leave their caves…_

"Hey-hey-hey! The news! Turn on the news!" Jake demanded of the guy in the cafeteria.

"Why?"

"I overheard the officers talking. The Marines sent a couple of scouts through the gate in New York today and they just got back!"

The man blinked and in a swift motion flipped the television on. A tired reporter moved awkwardly around civilian and police that were surrounding an area near the gate.

"…Marine MRAPs returned earlier this Wednesday after a brief reconnaissance operation beyond the gate situated in Times Square. The vehicles were sent at approximately 12:30 AM EST, and returned a little after 8:00 in the morning. As you can see from the recovery footage, the second vehicle has suffered some damage… there…" he added, pointing.

The men in the cafeteria stared with concern at the second MRAP being shown on the TV screen.

Some of the armor on the left side had actually been indented, as if a wrecking ball had hit it. The .50 caliber machine gun on the top was visibly dislocated, probably out of commission, and while hard to tell, the bullet proof glass on the driver's side was slightly cracked.

"Those things are designed to tank IEDs, what the hell hit them?" one of the older Canadian soldiers asked out loud. Everyone knew the titans were large and dangerous, but also slow and quite stupid. They all shuddered at the possibility of something worse living in that strange land.

The reporter seemed to have an answer.

"We interviewed one of the Marines briefly and managed to ask him about the damage. The Marine, Afghanistan veteran Wesley Thomson had this to say…"

The footage cut to an earlier take of the Marine hopping out of the MRAP, unhurt, and a reporter asking

"Sir, what happened out there?"

"Huh? Oh, just one of them freaky bastards tried to grab us."

"I thought most giants were slow."

"Well yeah, but some are… well, freaky bastards that crawl. Crashed right into us." the soldier stated, rubbing his neck.

"Just how bad is it over there?"

"Uh, well, it ain't Afghanistan, but I mean that in a good way. Naw, there's a lot of them around, but it seems rather nice for the most part… I think we got it on camera too. I guess it's pretty pleasant, but I wouldn't vacation there." he said, lightheartedly.

_Typical Marines…_

…

Ilse stared at the television screen in shock.

"They got attacked by a titan, head on, and all it could do to their car was dent it a little?" she asked the FBI agent that was sitting in the room with her.

"Well, those are basically armored cars that can survive pretty harsh explosions. Have you read up on the Iraq war yet?"

Ilse shook her head. On the table were plenty of discs that she could put inside a box which would then play them on the screen bolted on the wall.

"Well, play it after you get through the Cold War."

It was vital to have her know as much as she could about their world if she was to act as an in-between. In the past month after the incident, Ilse had been staying in the small apartment the American government had essentially rented out for her, even granting her a Visa, some odd document needed for staying in a foreign nation, and teaching her how to read, something that wasn't as difficult as she originally thought given the similarity between languages.

This was all in preparation for the inevitable.

The US was planning on sending at least a division of its military across the mysterious gate and into the strange lands that existed beyond it.

"The US carried this operation despite objections from UN officials, some who claim the natives to the other side might see it as an act of aggression."

The statement got her attention.

"Wait, what? No one has lived in Wall Maria's territory in almost five years. Only humans any recon operation might encounter are with the Survey Corps… why are the United Nations against sending soldiers in there?" Ilse asked the FBI agent.

"The UN worries about all the entanglements another world might involve. You say Humanity only exists within the walls, but let's be honest, you could be wrong."

Ilse frowned, but nodded at the statement.

In fact, she had never even considered that a possibility.

It was actually quite odd how accepted it was by everyone that they were all that remained of humanity.

But then no one dared question the king or his advisors. Not out of fear, though, the king had been effective enough, and all previous kings were greatly revered. Why would they lie?

And even if they weren't alone, what good would it do them? Assuming there were some pockets of humanity out there, they couldn't communicate with each other, and if the old records were to be believed, they would also be under siege by titans… right?

The agent continued, interrupting her thoughts.

"But even if the walls are all that's left, it's still an entire nation that exists within another world. Assuming we send troops and destroy most if not all the titans, it might make management even worse as people branch out, which they will eventually do. Maybe new countries will form, maybe people will want independence, maybe they will want us to help them, and a whole lot of other possibilities. I guess it's just opening a can of worms for them, something they really don't want to do right now."

Ilse nodded.

_But there has to be something I can do to gain support for sending help back home…_

…

The ground shook as she maneuvered gracefully above it. She had been a wondrous addition to the arsenal the American military had been so proud of all the way back since Reagan injected so much money into it in the 1980s. Even some of her older sisters were still around, almost thirty years later. But she was new, and recently upgraded. Oh, some complained, declaring her Russian rivals could mop the floor with her, that it was time for the American military to look into something else.

But her time wasn't over yet.

She was still capable of protecting those that served with her, and her capabilities had been proven again and again in the battlefield. Many were confident that even her older sisters would be able to stop a Russian incursion into West Germany, should history have gone a little differently, and even now she was ready to destroy those that got in her way.

But if she could think, she would probably be somewhat confused as to why her enemy was no longer a vehicle, or even a person, but a large wooden humanoid model that was supposed to be indicative of her new enemy.

The M1A2 Abrams maneuvered itself through the field, reaching a slight elevation on the ground before taking aim at the large wooden target, her main gun obediently moving to position.

The 120mm smoothbore gun fired a single uranium depleted sabot round, disintegrating the top of the target from half a mile away.

The US Army general inspecting the field sighed.

He was old, tired and planning on retiring.

He wondered if he was one of the last generals that remained in service that had lived and trained through the Cold War, preparing for a conflict that never came, only to realize that the new big threat to his country came from guerilla groups in a backwater land that didn't even have a basic concept of what existed beyond the dessert. And _just_ when he was planning on retiring, yet another threat emerged that needed neutralizing.

And just like that, tactics had to be changed again with a new threat literally on America's doorstep.

"Will that do it?" he asked, turning to one of the few observers.

The girl seemed impressed. She was still just a kid from the looks of it. It didn't surprise him from the descriptions he had been getting on the news, but it still broke his heart that underage boys and girls had to do the fighting in such desperate situations on the other side of the gate. But what other option would anyone have in such a scenario?

"I… would think so." She said, but for some reason he didn't buy it. Something in her eyes suggested uncertainty.

Deciding to treat her like any other subordinate, the old man turned to face her.

"Are you sure? Looks to me like we haven't convinced you yet." he said, remaining stoic.

The girl winced at that, before turning to look at the other observers, which were just an Air Force colonel and a Marine general, both of whom returned the same glance.

"If something needs changing, tell us." The marine general stated.

The girl looked at the men, took a breath and spoke up.

"Well, I know how destructive tanks can be, and I'm no general or high ranking officer… but I can't help but worry that no one takes the Titan threat as seriously. Even with these weapons… I know how much punishment some titans can take. I heard one got blown to bits by cannon fire and still healed itself…. I don't want anyone dying because I forgot to give someone their advice."

The men nodded.

It was a good point, underestimating the enemy had cost every great empire at least one battle.

"Well, this is uncharted territory for us, Miss Langnar. We don't want to lose a single one of our boys to the enemy on the other side. We appreciate any and all advice you can give us."

That got the young girl to smile slightly.

"Well, all you have to remember is that the nape is the main weakness to kill them." The girl repeated, starting to feel like a broken record.

"I think uranium depleted rounds will do a bit more than destroy the nape…" the general mumbled.

"Yes, but some are capable of moving with insane speeds." She said, her bizarre accent manifesting itself.

The men nodded. They had all seen the footage from the first reconnaissance operation.

"Abrams move pretty fast… but as usual, we plan on sending support units with heavy machine guns and grenade launchers."

"And guided projectiles?" she asked, using the term she had recently learned.

The men nodded. Not too far away from the Abrams a couple of Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles fired two TOW anti-tank missiles at another target. Though these were outdated models, they still performed spectacularly, annihilating the target entirely, leaving only charred remains and smoke.

Ilse wondered if she was worrying over nothing, staring at the beasts in the field. The Abrams main battle tank weighed over sixty tons; no way a titan could move it.

_Maybe I am worrying over-_

A cell phone rang, interrupting the girl's thoughts.

None of the military personnel were carrying theirs.

Ilse picked it up and put it to her ear.

Such inventions would greatly benefit her world if they ever got there…

"Uh huh… wait, now?" she said, surprised. "B-but the message says… oh… I read it… wrong…"

The General raised an eyebrow.

"She's supposed to do a big interview to rally support behind us…" the Air Force colonel said.

"Well, most Americans have their minds made up on whether or not we should go; I doubt a single interview will change minds." He mumbled a response.

"Yeah, well wait until you see who wanted to book her."

…

He looked at himself on the mirror.

_Good enough…_

While his late night show was considered by many to be about comedy, the man was well known for his commentary on political issues facing the nation. He tried to be… well, objective wasn't the right word. …Agreeable?

Some, the president included, weren't really fans of his show or what he said.

_Not a problem…_

His political leanings were no secret, of course, but he still tried to express his point of view in a way that wasn't condescending to people on the other side.

_For the most part at least…_

Like many political commentators in the US, he had received plenty of heat for saying something some didn't agree with, or some felt he was being offensive, or some felt he wasn't being offensive enough…

But that came with the job, especially if you were the most viewed late night show host in the US.

But even knowing all of that, he was still caught completely off guard when someone he had ridiculed plenty on the show had showed up wanting to talk to him.

_No, not just talk to him… _

The secretary of state was offering him money to interview the girl that had come out of the gate a few months prior. If this was offered to a regular small time reporter, or even one of the more well-known ones, he was sure they would take it in a heartbeat, however…

"No, I will _not_ act as a propaganda spewing-" he had begun, he knew exactly why they were asking him to interview her. He, along with many US citizens, didn't want the US to get too involved with the world on the other end. It wasn't that they didn't want to send help; they just didn't trust their own government to keep itself in check and not annex an entire planet. And that was just _one_ of the many reasons why. Ignoring all the political complications, the fact that the other world more than likely contained unknown diseases, had a high risk of death, and the possibility of becoming another Afghanistan were reason enough for every US citizen to be, at the very least, wary of another military operation.

"Propaganda?! I know you don't like the administration, but this is the interview of a life time!" the politician protested.

"Oh yeah? Answer me this, why has the FBI kept her out of the public eye for so long?"

"She's sixteen, Jim!" the politician stated quietly, even a little angry.

That had caught the show host off guard.

The politician continued, saying "I know you and many others have concerns over whether we should get involved in this… other world, but no one in the mainstream wants to talk about how bad the situation is over there. Every time the president brings it up he gets called a fear monger, and when someone backs him up or tries to clear it up the news networks demand to interview Miss Langnar, something she's not really willing to do considering most major news networks want to hear her denounce the president."

"That isn't-" he paused. While knew in his heart that most news networks still at least tried to give the full truth in their story, it wasn't an exaggeration that most news networks and websites had been needlessly biased in the last few years. Talk show hosts like himself constantly commented on how, at least politically, most Americans made up their minds on something without all the facts coming out, simply preferring to base their opinions on who said it first.

"Yeah, even if ABC or CNN have well versed and polite reporters, she doesn't really trust them after all the crap some of their hosts have been spewing."

"Well, to be fair, our president gives them plenty of material to hit him with." He replied, getting the other man to roll his eyes.

"She still thinks you're way more believable than them to deliver the truth."

He took a minute, not contemplating whether he would agree or not, that was already decided, but he still had to mull over the fact that the reports coming from the White House weren't exaggerated.

"Still, I… I mean sixteen? They have child soldiers on the other side?"

"Again, the president _hasn't_ exaggerated this. We've been trying to get her to get interviewed, but all she agrees to are these written statements, and for some reason no one in the mainstream wants to trust those. CNN didn't even bother airing the last ones."

_Can't imagine why…_

"She finally agreed on doing a video message, but she insists that she be interviewed by a Late Night Show Host… like you."

He crossed his arms.

He would agree, but he wanted to see the politician squirm a little more.

"Says you're as genuine as they get, even when you lie or exaggerate." the politician stated.

"So, she watches my show?"

"A little, she's mostly catching up on world history now. What do you say?"

And so, he found himself on a plane to an Army base Michigan where he learned she was talking with high ranking officers on taking out the giants that plagued the other side of the gate. He found it impossible to ignore the motor pool in the distance, where several men were working on their vehicles with an urgency often seen in ants.

_The brass is itching to go through…_

He couldn't stand how bloodthirsty the military could seem sometimes. It wasn't that they were, he knew as much, but the eagerness of some military officers to go off to kill was something he couldn't stand. Still, he knew that this wasn't as easy as calling Iraq a pointless war. People on the other side of that… gate clearly seemed to need help.

_Especially if they have child soldiers fighting giants to survive… where is-?_

His heart sank when he saw her.

_Sixteen, she looks like she should still be in middle school…_

"Hi… Ilse Langnar… 34th expedition… Survey Corps…" she mumbled without making eye contact.

He was surprised at how nervous she looked.

He introduced himself, telling her it was okay.

"S-sorry… I guess… knowing that a million people will see what I have to say… you know… scares me… which is stupid because I have almost died multiple times… yet…"

"Hey, come on, now… you're alright." The man he assumed was her body guard said.

"Thanks… how is it I faced Titans for a living and I am absolutely petrified of a recorded interview?" she almost wailed.

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it. I interviewed the president right before he became president. Should've seen how nervous he gets before going on camera." He said, as friendly as he could make himself sound, actually getting a light chuckle out of her.

Laughter is the best medicine after all…

…

One would have imagined things would be more relaxed after a joint exercise with the friendly neighbor to the north, but training had been nonstop since they returned. Random drills, a new training on how to engage Titans, which mostly involved grenade launchers, which led to every troop in the battalion training with different types of grenade launchers themselves.

For lieutenant Troy, the only thing missing was the order to move out.

The soldiers under his and his commanding officer's watch were more than ready at this point, and he knew damn well that if any team would be going through the gate to support the Marines, it would be them. It wasn't just opinion either; it was the fact that they were both green and available. Units being sent overseas both to allied and non-allied nations weren't about to be called back, and having some trained troops from New York's neighbor would make the logistics much easier.

At least, in his mind.

He stared at the footage on the computer screen. It was a few months old at this point, but the MRAPS sent previously had gotten some pretty decent footage of the recon op.

Green hills, tall pine trees, the occasional farm house… kind of looked like Germany, except with Giant freaky humanoids wondering around.

"Amber Actual, this is Amber 1-2, you got visual on the walls yet?" a voice was heard on the radio.

"Negative Amber 2, you seeing the size of some of these?"

One of the cameras had actually captured footage of some of the larger titans looming over the trees in the morning sun, not unlike lovecraftian nightmares; only letting their prey live because they were thankfully unaware of them.

"Yeah… unsettling sons of- Woah!"

The moment in question…

It was hard to tell, but it seemed that as the crew had been slightly distracted by the giants in the distance, when they passed a decrepit farm house a freaky titan crawled on all fours from behind it, not unlike a spider, and moved towards Amber actual at a terrifying speed. The camera swerved along with the vehicle, obscuring the beast, but it was clear it had rammed it, spinning it slightly, maybe even causing it to almost flip. The 50 caliber machine gun opened up as the driver audibly struggled to move out of the way as much as he could in order to avoid being rolled upside down.

Troy narrowed his eyes, wondering if the rumors proved true.

As the MRAP managed to turn, and Amber 2 whirled around to support and…

"Huh… Would you look at that?"

He hadn't been the first to notice, but the rounds tore entire chunks of the creatures head off, including the eyes, before a tracer visibly entered through the open mouth and exited through the top of the neck.

If aimed right, .50 caliber rounds could cut through parts of the titan's nape even if they were going through the front.

"Think your boys can handle that?" his commanding officer asked.

"This is what Miss Ilse called an abnormal?"

"Correct, fast little devils… well, large ones…" the older man chuckled.

Troy shrugged. Despite his unit being sent through, all they were getting were Humvees. Yeah, Humvees armed with .50 cals and Mk 19 automatic grenade launchers, but still, outrunning that beast might be much more problematic than what he would like.

_Not a problem… a challenge… didn't sign up for the easy jobs, Troy, remember that…_

"I think we can handle it. We got some LAVs coming along, right?"

"Yeah, but other than the platoon of A2s, we're mostly contributing with the bunch of Bradley IFVs. Don't know if it'll add too much, but Ilse describes that some of them are about 9 feet tall. I think the Bradley's guns will fare pretty well against those without risking our men and help the Abrams conserve their ammo."

Troy nodded.

"Ah, and before I forget, orders from the brass. Congratulations."

He looked at the paper…

"Well… that's… interesting…" he mumbled, glancing at the late night show exclusive.

An interview with a certain girl…

"So… after all these losses, a government that doesn't give people too much freedom, after everything, you keep pushing to help your world. Why is that?" the talk show host asked in a polite manner.

"Because I have to live for them… for the ones that died…" the girl said slowly and quietly.

…

The motor pool had plenty of noise to distract any newcomer, but Matt's still stared at the girl barely a year younger than him. Right now she was wearing civilian clothes, blue jeans and a light green blouse, but it wasn't attraction that was keeping his, as well as the rest of the men's, eyes on her.

Jake winced, pointed at her, looked at Dave, then back at the girl.

Lieutenant Troy stood tall next to the small girl.

"Alright boys, I bet you already know who this is."

"Well, yes lieutenant, but… what is Miss Langnar doing in… here?" Jake asked, genuinely unsure.

The girl shifted nervously. As if she wasn't sure she should be there.

"We'll be escorting her as we cross into the Gate. Rejoice gentlemen, it is officially our job to establish first contact."

The sounds of the motor pool continued without interruption as the younger men stared in surprise.

"Not to sound… like a prick, but shouldn't this fall on the Marines, El-tee?" Matt asked.

"It sort of did, actually. We get a Marine escort when we start assisting them with recon, but Miss Langnar will be staying with our unit until the Marines finish up the establishment of an FOB after we cross."

The men glanced at each other, unsure.

"Any objections?"

"Hell No, Lieutenant!" they all answered.

"It's… an honor to be working with you all!" Ilse said after a second, extending her arm to shake hands.

Matt, who was closest, shrugged and reached for it.

"Matthew White, go by Matt… probably the, uh, most responsible one here. Jake over there will steal anything you consider dear, Dave is Turkish, so we prefer to call him a cockroach-"

"Matt, let the others introduce themselves." Lieutenant Troy said before moving to the side of the Humvee to check some papers.

"Yeah, Matt, can't go one day without getting scolded by our lovely commanding officers, Matt!" Dave huffed, grinning as he shook the girl's hand.

"Dave Emin, which by the way means trustworthy in my parent's country."

"Shut up, Dave, everyone knows you're as trustworthy as a Chinese workshop… Jackson Jackson, also known as Jake Jackson, team leader-"

"Team Guys, give me some of your condoms if your parents send any so that I can pretend I got more tail than all of you, but sure, team leader."

"He drives our Humvee." Matt said, deadpanned.

"Hey, unlike you two, I can drive and- shut up Muhammad! No one asked you! Anyway, pleasure to meet you."

Ilse blinked, and barely stifled a laugh before laughing loudly.

The men were unsure how they should react to the laughing girl.

"Sorry, it's just… I guess soldiers are soldiers no matter where you go." She said, wiping her eye.

"Did… she did_ not_ just compare us to third world armies… listen, missy, the US Army is-"

"Hey! Introductions are over! Miss Langnar will be staying in her own bunk until tomorrow. I want you and the rest of the unit ready to leave for New York by 0500 on the dot! Am I understood?" staff sergeant Roy yelled in the way Army staff sergeants usually do.

Of course, it immediately got the men to scramble to finish working the old Humvee and Ilse to fluster over what she could do considering she wasn't US Army.

"Excuse me, but your bunk is this way Miss Langnar." He said, leading her away.

"Damn it… of course the sergeant would take away the only bit of eye candy we've had in months…" Jake groaned.

"Dude, she's like sixteen…" Matt said, frowning.

"Which is why you should the angry one here…" Dave pointed out, grabbing some crates of .50 caliber rounds to put in the trunk.

"Excuse my God damned French, but what in the hell are you trying to imply? I'm eighteen; she's like… a kid…"

"Only in age, baby face." Dave said earning a frown from Matt.

"Actually, he has a point. She's seen more combat than any of us…" Jake said, surprisingly somber for once.

That got them quiet for a second, Matt continued working on the Mk 19 while Jake checked the ammo before Dave brought more over.

"Well… maybe… but you know what? They didn't have tanks, or even regular cars. So this won't be a combat mission, this is more of a… vacation! Yeah, let's call it that." Matt said, suddenly trying to sound chipper, which only made him come off as childish, which wasn't helped by the fact that his uniform looked a bit large on him even though it fit him fine.

The men shook their heads and kept working.

"Uh… okay, no one heard that…"

"No one heard what?" the two replied in almost perfect unison.

"Thanks."

Not too far from the men, the officers were discussing the plans for the incursion, the sun setting in the distance.

"So we have no idea how many hostiles we could be facing once through?" Troy asked.

"Negative, drones have and are still being sent, but they can only fly so far once on the other side before the signal becomes too weak, and the fact is that titans move around, so while we could have plenty appear one day, none may be there the next."

"Right, but from what Ilse mentioned, these giants don't move much at night. Would securing the area around the gate before sunrise be an option?" the lieutenant asked.

"Afraid not, partly due to political grandstanding from both parties, and partly because we want to engage the enemy as soon as possible." Another officer replied.

"Political grandstanding?"

"They want to show us off to the city, give them a good look at our mean green mach-"

"And because we want to engage the enemy ASAP. Assuming few titans are in the general area, we can assume they will be arriving quickly, probably able to smell us or something. Regardless, orders are orders. Remember, the enemy is very stupid, but still dangerous."

"Like our politicians?" one of the younger officers muttered.

Troy glanced at his fellow officer. The kid looked like he had just graduated and had zero experience in the field. Maybe he did; wasn't like he had much experience either.

"Actually, that's a good point, are we fully prepped for this? I know we haven't had as many budget cuts, but still." another officer asked.

"Gentlemen, we are clearly more than ready. Once we link up with the rest of the Marines, we organize our vehicles into a convoy formation, tanks in the front, IFVs right behind them, and anything else behind those. Tanks set up a perimeter a fair deistance from the Gate, IFVs reinforce it, mechanized infantry reinforces them from way in the back. Remember, no plan survives first contact with the enemy, but the screw ups will really have to be on our side if we get pummeled by an enemy that can't figure out how to open a simple car door." The Commanding Officer said, eliminating any possilble doubts as to how this would end, even if it wasn't the safest plan.

But then again, what was?

…

"I think the last time New York had these many tanks and APCs was back in 1946…" the Marine lieutenant mumbled.

"Yeah… kind of crazy they turned this into a bit of a… Supermodel show?" Lieutenant Troy half mumbled to the fellow officer.

"Supermodel show? Nah, more like Broadway, and I think New York wouldn't have it any other way."

Times Square was filled to the brim with the military hardware and vehicles neatly parked so that it would enter the gate easily enough. A stage had been erected near it, and several military leaders as well as a certain US politician were expected to speak at the force that would go through the gate.

However, several NATO personnel were present as observers, specifically, Britain, France and Germany.

The three representatives had special chairs set aside on the stage in order to observe from it, but everyone suspected they would follow the American expedition the second an FOB was established.

Around the area sealed off for the soldiers by fences and plenty of police officers was a large crowd of civilians and news crews reporting from outside, which was added to the media presence within the military circle.

Matt, Jake and Dave were standing around their Humvee along with most of the other men in their unit.

"Kind of glad most of them are cheering… or at least not attacking us." Dave sighed. He'd been fairly nervous since they got confirmation their platoon would follow several others through the gate, and his worries weren't exactly quelled by the rumors of anti-military protests.

Thankfully, they were the peaceful types that just quietly kept up some signs about not liking their city becoming a military base.

Which it really wasn't, but you couldn't tell from looking at times square.

The place genuinely looked like a motor pool with the battalions of Marine and Army tanks, IFVs, HMVs and LAVs.

Plus the several thousand soldiers that were standing around, waiting for the call to fall in, listen to the speech and get into their cars in order to charge through the gate.

"Man, let me tell you, when the recruiter said I wouldn't regret this… look at all those girls back there…" Jake said, waving at a few that were nearby.

"Don't hit on the camera crews… unless you want your ugly face on TV, which…" Matt shut up as other men in the unit suddenly started making noises at the nearby girls, who thankfully only rolled their eyes and went back to work.

He frowned, forcing himself to remain the mature one in the unit, keeping himself straight while all the others acted like children.

He winced as he noticed a flash from not too far away.

A reporter!

She had snapped a quick picture, smiled and snuck back into the crowd along with some tall guy that was also holding a camera. He only saw her face for a second, but he already knew the woman planned on using it on some piece, maybe pro military, maybe not, but a piece on a public platform where anyone could see him nonetheless.

_Times like these really make me wish I smoked…_

"Callahan! Roe! Toby" Ilse exclaimed, seeing the officers she had met when she first crossed into the planet.

"Hey, Ilse. Long time no see." The older one said.

"I heard you guys got medals!"

"Yeah… no big deal." the older man said, seemingly embarrassed. The Medal of Valor was indeed comparable to the Medal of Honor in the US military, but Callahan didn't feel he had done enough to earn it, at least not during the emergency.

"…I never apologized for what happened last year…"

"Don't… Now listen here; you are probably the bravest kid I know. Even when you thought you were going to die you kept going. Not only that, thanks to you, your world may get a genuine chance in order to better itself. Don't forget what you said."

"Live on for those who died…" she said, determination coursing through her.

"That's it. Now go show that world who owns it!"

She nodded and ran back to the unit she had been assigned to.

"Ilse, here!" Lieutenant Troy called.

He walked over and handed her some Kevlar armor to wear under her Survey Corps uniform.

She nodded, throwing it on quickly.

As she did so, a man stepped up to the podium, looked around seemingly ready to start talking.

She recognized him as the American president, the big man in charge. All the men stood to attention and the crowd went silent, awkwardly leaving her unsure of where to stand. Nervously, she sidestepped next to the guys she had briefly met the previous day and stood next to them just as the president sucked in a breath to begin his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it has been many months since the incident here struck deep in our hearts and minds. A discovery of unparalleled comparison… a gate to another world. Something so crazy and unexpected… nobody could have seen it coming, nobody… on the other side lies a hostile world, where remnants of humanity struggle to survive no longer at the top of the food chain. We have the capacity to turn their situation around. We have the weapons, the technology, the heart and soul to repair this world, and we will. Thanks to the planning of our great generals, advice from the scientific community, and support from both parties, we can finally commence this great endeavor. Let the rising sun behind us signify more than just another day, but let it mark that a new era will begin. A new world where American values, freedom and liberty, and the right to work to achieve your dreams inspire the people we meet. And with God's almighty guidance, we shall be victorious…"

"Dave... Dave for God's sake, the president is talking!" Jake hissed.

"Dude, I know, but I didn't vote for him and I just want to sleep in the car… just a bit, I-"

"Sergeant Kilroy is giving you that look…"

Dave stood at full attention immediately.

Matt grinned slightly, but then noticed the girl they were escorting was eyeing the small monument erected to honor the victims of the attack.

Ilse was specifically staring at a family of three; the mother and young son were visibly struggling to keep their composure while the father was standing still, almost like a statue.

It reminded her of her own family…

The one that thought she was dead.

She swallowed her fear of returning to that hell and glared at the closed door of the gate.

No fear this time.

_Live for them…_

The president finished his speech and a final briefing was held with the officers.

Drones had been sent, but the sun was barely rising in there as well.

They should definitely expect hostiles once through, but the exact amount was unclear.

Construction equipment would be going through shortly; a Forward Operations Base was the prime objective for the first day.

Set up some effective defenses, dig in, and if things get really bad, everyone hide in a tank or APC and wait for reinforcements, just stay close.

Above all, don't die to something so stupid it can't even walk right.

With that, the men scrambled to their vehicles, rounds were chambered, engines started.

The Abrams first roared to life, the jet engine making everyone in the audience look on curiously.

"All hunter teams, button up."

"Instruments are all good."

"Fuel's good."

"Are we happy?"

"Hell yes!"

"All right then. All tanks advance!"

Two by two, the Marine and Army variations of the Abrams main battle tank lurched forward, advancing into the now open structure, ready to crush anything in their path, their 120mm guns staring down the darkness, as if daring it to blink, to spawn more man eating giants, their heavy treads appeared to shake the ground below them.

They entered the gate without issues.

Matt stood in the Humvee, holding on to the Mk 19 mounted on the top. He swallowed. He wouldn't admit to anyone how nervous he was, not now, not ever.

Ilse took a breath, nervously buckling into the seat next to Dave, earning Jake's attention.

The Humvees soon followed the LAVs into the darkness.

_Deep into the hell that awaited them on the other side..._

The darkness enveloped them; Matt looked to his sides, unsure if they were walls or an infinite stretch of darkness. Unsettled, he focused on the convoy ahead of him. Behind them were several other HMVs, including Marine MRAPs with their own .50 cals.

_Support for the big guns…_

"Alright… how's it looking?" Troy checked in.

"All good so far."

Lieutenant Troy was probably more nervous than any of the men under his command, but he couldn't show it. None of them honestly could.

_Don't get scared then, get scared after…_

"Hey, you okay?" Jake asked the girl in the backseat.

She shakily nodded.

"You ran through all this way back then, right?"

She nodded again.

"Scared?"

"Maybe."

"Yeah, same… but you know, once things get cleared up, you'll probably be known as the heroine of your world or something."

She still looked unsure.

"Or… at least the one that answered Freedom's ring?"

"Good God, Jake, focus on not veering off whatever keeps this ground solid!"

"Yes your highness." Jake said, making a face Ilse saw in the mirror.

She allowed a smile.

Treads and wheels rolling through the darkness, the Abrams were the first to clear the exit and begin to advance across a grassy hill, each one moved to set up a perimeter.

_No problems._

They reached the top of a second hill, eyeing the beautiful rising sun; a whole new world ahead of them, green and mostly unknown, but as the only visitor they had once described, it wasn't all that different from their own. Trees in the distance cast shadows in the early morning light in criss-crossed patterns as a soft breeze swayed them left to right.

Another world…

They advanced past a few more hills before…

_Problem. _

They were rising from a slumber to meet them.

Dozens of them.

Tall, deformed, seemingly malnourished, smiling, and even within a tank there was some dread at the sight.

"Contact! Eight hundred meters!"

"Got a few over on our left, six hundred meters out."

As the LAVs and IFVs exited and began to position themselves along the tanks for support, the Humvees and MRAPs stopped to establish a small perimeter of their own around the gate.

The few men that dared exit their Humvees swallowed. They had no witty lines, their enemy was right there, trying to intimidate them by standing taller than most of their houses.

Ilse opened the door, but stood on the edge of the Humvee, worried as young men moved with their rifles to hide behind their vehicles, mostly to help as observers.

This was truly it. Success here meant a chance for her people to reclaim their world…

She clutched her green coat; the wings of freedom once again flew in the familiar breeze of her world.

_Here's where it begins…_

"All units stand by to engage…" the radio crackled.

"Matt, you remember what to-?" Jake began to ask.

"Yeah, I… I know…" he said, somewhat nervously, making sure his mounted weapon was ready to provide fire support to the armor.

The sun finally illuminated the new battlefield.

The humanoid beasts saw their smaller challengers and widened their smiles, drool pouring from them as they readied to devour as much as the now risen sun would allow them to. The booming noise their steps made as they advanced was a reminder that they would never stop until they had found release from their nightmare.

The Abrams' turrets swiveled and marked their targets, which were all standing at full height now, but the 62 ton Abrams awaited them with uranium depleted rounds for each. The size of the target was irrelevant to them; _they_ wouldn't stop until their enemy had been neutralized.

The story began.

* * *

**A/N: First things first, credit to Jackie Robinson and UN Peacekeeper for the inspiration to write this. **_**Thus, the French Foreign Legion Fought There**_** and **_**War of the Worlds**_** are pretty solid reads on their own and if you want to read about our world interacting with the Attack on Titan world, look no further. I was actually surprised there weren't that many fics where a doorway leading into the AOT world opens up somewhere in our world, and while this certainly isn't the only Attack on Titan/Gate fic, it was these two that got me wanting to write this. Fair bit of a heads up, **_**Thus the French Foreign Legion Fought There**_** and **_**War of the Worlds**_** are pretty different from each other, for example one has way more action than the other, while the other is a fairly interesting take on the Gate concept. Again, both are really good, but I wanted to write something different, though if it ever seems to resemble any other fics do let me know.**

**I was also surprised that there weren't that many Ilse Langnar fics out there, which… okay, she wasn't that big a character, but still, when I was mulling over how this fic would play out I kept going back to that first AOT OVA and this idea of having her go through the gate just sort of stuck. I mean, it allowed for less carnage during the attack so… plus? I don't know. Not entirely sure if she will remain as a major protagonist, that's still Eren's job, but I figured she would add to the whole "what if" of the story, cause that's what this is. I want to focus on how the Attack on Titan story would change if the modern world was suddenly made accessible to the main cast and hopefully this (maybe too long) first chapter is telling of events to come. Unlike some of the other fics I have, I did plan a fair bit for this one. The one thing I worry about is the US Army guys. I'm no soldier, and despite my love for history and the military, as well as the fact that I have several family members in the Armed Forces, I can easily make mistakes (I once wrote that an M1A2 Abrams had a 150mm main gun) and screw up the lingo or call signs or even protocol so any advice on that front would be greatly appreciated.**

**Anyway, what did you think of this first chapter? Reviews are always greatly appreciated, and if there is anything I screwed up or could do better, please let me know. Thanks for reading; hopefully this can turn into a good read for you all. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Combined Arms**

* * *

The shadows retreated as the sun rose over the horizon.

It emphasized the colors of the blue and yellow flowers that swayed gently in the breeze along with the grass and trees.

If it wasn't for the ruined farm house that looked like it had been stepped on, one would easily confuse the scene with a picturesque view of a North American or European field.

This farm house had been a desolate and lonely place the past few years.

The owners, whoever they were, had run the second the news of the disaster had gotten to them.

Now the only inhabitants were the birds, plants, and occasional family of rodents.

But every so often another of nature's long list of mammals would visit it.

Green coats with a white and blue coat of arms, riding on horses that reached incredible speeds.

The farm house had no way of knowing who they were or what they did, but they were the only beings that would ever try to keep the place at least somewhat hospitable.

The Survey Corps was not a popular group back home.

Yes, they were the only ones still trying to reclaim the land lost to the Titans four years prior, but not a single mission had brought any actual progress.

The closest thing they would ever even count as success was a return with minimal casualties.

_And that didn't come often._

Every single soldier in this attachment knew the horrors that entailed venturing beyond the security of the walls. Most rookies never made it back, and even the most skilled of the corps were capable of little more than quick kills to individual titans. Oh, there were exceptions, the ones that would venture on multiple occasions beyond the walls were those capable of fighting multiple titans on their own and coming out alive.

That was a necessity if you went on multiple expeditions.

This particular detachment was in charge of perimeter watch, which is why they were stopping at this old farm.

It was the closest thing to a supply depot the corps was able to maintain outside the walls. Materials for the eventual sealing of Wall Maria, food, water, and what few medical equipment they had available was stored in secure parts of the decrepit home.

Other than food for the horses however, little else was necessary on this particular run.

Any member of the corps with even a little amount of experience would quickly realize that this detachment hadn't had a single casualty so far.

"Ahh… this is the worst!" a woman with dark brown colored hair wailed rather loudly, startling both the rookies and some of the veterans.

"Keep it down, the field wont clean itself…" a tired voice said, one that had gone cynical due to years of life's relentless beatings.

"But we haven't had a single encounter! Not _one_ titan from Trost to here!"

The statement actually got the tired man to narrow his eyes slightly.

"That's a good sign in my book." Another young man said his light brown hair now dirty by the dust.

"Didn't some appear on the right flank?" another girl with chestnut colored hair asked while handing the older man a rake.

Captain Levi was the kind of man who would do his damndest to keep an area cleaner than he found it, and his team had been effectively indoctrinated in this belief.

The other girl kept her goggles on as she looked through a telescope, trying to see deeper into the nearby forest.

"But still… if the titans disappear all of a sudden we would have learned next to nothing of them. And…" she stopped as she realized that the older man had moved his cleaning operation to the barns, ignoring her genuine concerns in their entirety.

Her subordinate continued to clean the vines and moss off the small fence that was mostly made of rocks and wood.

He turned, realizing that he was alone with the, possibly genius or possibly insane, chatterbox of the survey corps. He took a breath, and waited for his commanding officer to ask him a question.

"Hey, Moblit-" she was cut off by some rather large branches breaking nearby.

An eight meter titan nervously peeked through some trees, seemingly studying the soldiers.

Hanji's face lit up as she took a breath.

This was it; small, seemingly abnormal so it might not try to eat them… she could probably _capture_ this one.

_The potential answers from a captured titan… the possibilities…_

"W-whoa! Titan! **Titan!" **one of the rookies yelled, drawing his blades.

Levi turned from his job and looked into the forest.

It was just standing behind some trees.

It almost looked scared.

"H-hey, levi! Can we catch it? I _think_ we can catch it!"

"Are you stupid? We don't have the gear to catch anything right now." he sighed.

"But look, it's so small. I bet we can overpower it!"

She wasn't _entirely_ wrong. There were over thirty of them, and only one of it.

_But only God knew by how much humanity had outnumbered the damned things before, and now look at us… _

"Not worth the risk. It-"

A sound off in the distance caught their attention. It was faint, but they could tell it was an explosion of sorts, similar to thunder or cannon fire.

The small titan made a noise not unlike a frightened child before running deep into the forest.

"What the-? Hey! Get back-"

_***Boom***_

_***Boom***_

Faint explosions rang in the distance, catching even Hanji's attention.

_Not titans…_

"What… in the world?"

"They're faint, but they don't sound like thunder… it's almost like cannon fire." The younger girl mused.

The captain frowned.

The expedition hadn't brought any cannons with them and even if they had, his detachment was supposed to be the furthest units on the left flank. No one else was supposed to be in that direction. It couldn't be coming from the walls, and the sky was clear, which meant that _someone_ else was in the uninhabited land that used to belong to the residents of wall Maria.

"Something's not right here. Petra, Oluo, on me. Eld, and Gunther keep watch until we're back."

He was about to mount when Hanji gave him a look.

"You're the scientist, your call."

She smiled and mounted her horse.

…

The explosions had somewhat decreased in intensity, yet grown louder as they cautiously moved forward.

"You think it could be an underground group that stayed behind? I heard some people did that. Maybe they got some equipment and stuff." Oluo, the man that looked older than he actually was, mused.

"It's been more than four years; I think they would be out of munitions by now." Petra replied just as several explosions rang much louder.

They got to an open area that was mostly just a stretch of hills and trees, except for a large structure visible off in the distance, as well as smoke.

"Whoa … was that there before?" Hanji asked, rather impressed.

The captain shook his head.

"The corps hasn't been anywhere near this area since the wall fell, but I would remember hearing about a big ass temple out in the middle of nowhere."

They realized they hadn't heard an explosion in a while.

Cautiously, they advanced toward the structure.

It was suddenly eerily quiet.

As if the air itself was afraid of making any noise. Then, off in the distance they heard the booming footsteps of the enemy.

"Captain! Titans to our left!" Petra exclaimed, seeing several large deformed heads peer by the hills not too far away, and moving pretty fast for that matter.

Levi frowned and went to Load some blades when-

_Whistling?_

_***BOOM!***_

Two of the larger titan's heads disintegrated instantaneously, leaving only a smoldering body that quickly collapsed on itself.

_That _startled them.

"Dismount! Stay low!" Levi ordered as more whistling started.

"What in-? Who on earth?! Ha-ha! That is amazing!" Hanji yelled with glee and worry as several other explosions rang out and this time three titans went down in smoke.

"_Captain_, what do we do here?!" Oluo asked, keeping his panic well hidden, but his eyes were wide with uncertainty.

Levi thought it through. The projectiles were not exploding on the ground and causing rocks and dirt to fly in all directions like most cannons. These were precise, instant and deadly, but they were specifically targeting the titans. They weren't firing at a set of coordinates; they were targeting the titans and their weak points and utterly annihilating them, seemingly with ease.

As he considered this, he saw Hanji crawling up the hill.

"Hey! What are you-?"

"Come on! They're killing titans, aren't they? Let's at least find out _what_ they are!" she yelled back.

With a frustrated sigh, he said "stay low and out of sight!" while pulling his hood over his head.

His subordinates followed suit.

Once at the top of the hill, they peaked and saw strange boxes with long and thin turrets swiveling to the sides. The turrets themselves seemed odd compared to the cannons they were used to seeing, but not too unfamiliar. It was the distance that was insane. The slowly disintegrating bodies of the giants were still many meters behind them, and the strange cannons were at least a mile away.

Cannons from the top of the wall could fire that far, but these were visibly doing it from the _ground_.

Levi focused his sights on the structure behind the boxes, raising an eyebrow as several men in green suits were wandering around it, carrying what appeared to be rifles of sorts, except they were black instead of the more common oak wood brown.

"Well, they're human from the looks of it." he muttered.

"You think they're some other faction from the military? Maybe they're the garrison experimenting on new weapons, or some secret operation." Petra mused aloud.

Levi narrowed his eyes, staring at the bizarre structure.

Several smaller boxes similar to carriages moved out of it despite the lack of horses.

He noticed a small one moved down one of the hills, seemingly on its way to the larger ones with the swiveling turrets.

As it stopped next to a pair of them, several men hopped of the sides and began unloading some boxes.

From the turret, a man popped his head up, seemingly shouting orders to the guys carrying boxes.

Suddenly something crashed through the trees near the strange men.

…

"Come on, move it!" the commander yelled as the drivers from the Humvee carried boxes of munitions for the tanks and IFVs.

As the men were unloading them one of the other tankers yelled over the radio.

"Contact six o clock! Six o clock!"

The commander whirled around barely in time. It was one of the crawling ones that moved on all fours like an insect, eerily similar to the one had harassed the first MRAPs that had been sent through months before, coming out of the forest at top speed. The creature jumped in the air and went to bite through the Abram's armor, attempting to take the commander as a quick meal; instead it found that it couldn't bite down on the top of the tank like other things.

The commander had barley ducked back into the turret, while the pair of men that carried the munitions had actually thrown themselves under the light Humvee, hoping not to be spotted as the monster tried to bite the top of the Abrams.

The problem here was the range, the Bradley's IFV could turn its turret right and fire several rounds into the creature's head, but the vital neck wound would be difficult from its angle. Other tanks further to the left opened up with their coaxial machine guns, but the abnormal actually pushed itself on top of the tank so that it was harder for the vehicles to get the necessary hit. Fire from the left and right couldn't hit the vital spot, and firing a 120mm round would pose too much of a needless risk.

Off from the hills near the gate a barrage of bullets and grenades flew directly into the beast.

"Up, five degrees…" Dave somewhat nervously instructed as Matt fired short bursts of the MK 19. He was being careful to hit the giant and not the tank crew or the nearby allies, and the same could be said of the other Humvees and MRAPs unloading their main weapons onto it.

"Right on target." Dave added calmly as the titan seemed to spasm and suddenly collapsed from the tank, dead. Whether it was their 40 millimeter grenades or any of the other support vehicles was up for debate, but the important thing was that the monster was dead.

The Abrams powered up and reversed on the gigantic corpse, crushing a part of its body easily, leaving only a decapitated head; its face contorted as if it were in a state of permanent agony as it slowly evaporated into nothing.

Ilse shuddered. If it wasn't for the armor and heavy firepower, everyone here would have been devoured long before the late morning sun shone on the field.

"Hey, Miss Langnar, how many does that make?"

She glanced at her notebook, thirty-four in the last six hours since they had arrived.

"Thirty five with this one." she called to Jake.

The soldier grinned and stretched in his seat, as if he owned the place.

"Well, that's probably more than any of-" he was cut off as Matt kicked the back of his head from the turret of the Humvee.

"Dumbass! Will you keep an eye on the damned battlefield?!" the younger soldier half yelled.

"I _am_! Geez, can you relax? These naked retards can't do much of anything against modern weapons." He said, somewhat irritated.

The private hadn't realized that both his close friends from his squad and the girl they were escorting had suddenly clamped up due to the intimidating man standing just outside his driver's seat.

"Oh, since you're so confident in your brothers in arms then, why don't you go assist the engineers in setting up the camp, Private Jackson?" Sergeant Roy said ominously, glaring at the younger man through the window of the Humvee.

Jake swallowed before yelling "Yes, Sergeant!" and grabbing his gear and running out of the Humvee, fear in his eyes.

Matt shook his head, staring at the now mostly pulverized corpse of the only titan that had even made it to the main line of the defense. Despite how easily most of these were being dispatched, he genuinely couldn't imagine how any society would fight against an enemy like this _without _modern weapons.

Maybe digging a deep enough trench with spikes or other obstacles could slow down some of them long enough to build some actual fortifications that could theoretically drive them off after a while, but the cost of human lives and time would be unsustainable, and the titans didn't seem to understand the concept of self-preservation. Ilse had described gear that allowed her and this world's military to swing around high enough to cut the nape, but even that wasn't as easy as it sounded. He had an image in his head of a certain web slinging hero, but the amount of coordination needed to fly around a massive moving target like these things and cutting just right without getting grabbed and eaten was also something he had trouble comprehending.

"I still can't imagine how you people manage." he said, his ever so slight accent from Kansas materializing when he spoke.

"I've said it isn't easy. But we do what we can." The girl said, writing something into her notebook.

"Still, a hundred years and you haven't developed something to make killing these things easier? I would suggest making hot air balloons to drop stuff on them from above or something."

"I don't know how much good it would do us to have a few hot air balloons when the whole world is infested by them… to our knowledge at least."

_But seriously, how come no one back home thought about it?_

"Yeah, maybe…"

The radio crackled to life.

"Uh, hey anybody else see that over the hill?"

Dave raised an eyebrow and walked over to the side of the Humvee to pick up the radio.

"Negative, Hitman Actual, you see something?"

"I ain't seeing much of anything from here." another voice chimed in before Hitman Actual responded.

"Maybe, about eight or nine hundred meters from our position, uh, due north-east… anybody got better eyes on those hills?"

"This is Hunter 2-3; we don't see anything from here, over." One of the tankers replied.

"I got nothing from here either." Matt told Dave after looking through his binoculars. The small ranged drones they had might pick up something, but those were busy monitoring the southern flank.

Ilse put her own down before sighing slightly.

She had partly hoped it was the survey corps, but for all she knew the Marine had just seen a bird land or take off. Maybe no new expeditions had happened since hers, there were always rumors the government wanted to cut down more funding for the corps, and if that had happened then the nearest scouts would be miles away, inside the walls.

"Hitman actual, drone is circulating the area, possible contact, but whatever it was seems to have retreated." Another voice chimed in on the radio.

Ilse raised an eyebrow, wondering if the scouts were actually closer than she had expected.

…

"I said stay _down_!" Levi ordered, mildly irritated with the supposed genius that was Hanji Zoe.

"But you saw how they handled that titan! Even when it overwhelmed one of their… their… weapons of complete destruction, they took it out, no problem! Why are you so worked up? " the woman half whined as the three Survey Corps members dragged her back to the horses behind the hills.

"No idea who they are, and our orders are not to make contact with people we don't know. What if they're not pleasant allies? We need to have some level of suspicion here and follow procedure."

"W-we have a procedure for something like this?" Petra asked, worried as well as curious.

The captain shrugged.

They didn't have a _technical_ procedure for the possibility of outsiders who weren't titans appearing within the walls, but they did have some amount of common sense.

A certain commander had to be informed before further action was taken in regards to these… people that had guns that spat lightning-quick fireflies instead of bullets, and cannons so accurate they could kill titans from a mile away.

…

Matt sat down on the ground, relaxing by the wheels of the now silent Humvee, the tanks and heavy guns had gone quiet for the day. He eyed several diggers and Army engineers working the ground so that it was at least flat enough to become a motor pool. Not too far from that, other construction equipment was busy at work in flattening the area that was mostly filled with hills. Unless he was mistaken, that would be the landing grounds for the air support that would be coming through later in the night or the next morning. He turned and glanced at the now setting sun. The field was covered in the orange light, casting shadows all over the place, something that reminded him of his time back home.

Feeling a bit nostalgic, he was oblivious to the approaching boots.

"Hey, lazy-ass! Working hard?" Jake called, dropping to sit down with his friend.

"Told you to stay alert." the younger of the two replied.

"Man, shut it… the hell is Dave and the girl?"

"Getting some more ammo from the trucks. We're about done for today anyway, so once he brings the ammo and drinks, all I have to do is pack em on the gun, and we can just relax." He said, stretching.

Jake sighed, exhausted from digging and carrying stuff around.

"You know, if not for the giant naked zombies, this world wouldn't be half bad. Kinda reminds me of Germany…"

"You've been?"

"Yeah, man. Back in 2015, class graduation trip. Saw fields just like these…"

"Lucky, all I got for a graduation trip was a day trip to Universal… half a day… also it was in California…"

"What's so bad about-?"

"Got the ammo! And some extra goodies." Dave said, running to the Humvee as he blew a pinkish bubble. He offered his teammates the small pack.

"Gum?" Jake asked.

"Dude, _Five_ _Gum_?! Where'd you-?"

"Mint… you have something else." Matt mumbled as he took the packet.

"Uh… Bazooka Joe, but this one is mine."

Matt rolled his eyes.

Jake didn't say anything.

Being met with awkward silence, Dave started the conversation.

"Besides, Matt needs the fresh mouth for the lady friend."

"I've only talked with her twice, don't see how-"

"Matt, Matt, Matt, I should've _known_ you'd try to get your hands on the forbidden fruit. You're eighteen and she is clearly sixteen. How shameful."

"I think I've said a grand total of thirty-five words to her since we met." the young man replied with little care.

"That the amount of time you're gonna last with-? Uh… What in God's green earth is…?"

The sun had finally set in its entirety, but off in the distance a low glow could be seen that couldn't belong to the lingering sunrays.

"Uh, all stations, anybody got eyes on the freaky lights over by the horizon, uh north-east, near the forest?" Dave called into the radio.

"Affirmative, we see them too."

"Are the COs aware of- are those torches?" Matt mumbled.

"Hell of a lot of them, kind of looks like-"

"**Is that the Survey Corps?"** the young girl yelled, excited, and coming out of nowhere; startling the three soldiers.

"I don't know, who _else_ could it be?" Dave told her, hiding his surprise.

"No one! Do you think-?" she was silenced by the approaching boots.

"You three, get that thing running right now! We have a possible friendly contact and we should seize the opportunity." The Army officer ordered.

Ilse stared as the three soldiers moved with a purpose, but she wasn't sure what she should do.

The Army officer gathered as much.

"Hop in, the Marines are getting one of their own prepped up, but you're basically our ambassador in this situation. They don't carry guns or any other weapons?" he asked her.

"I- no, sir… we usually keep some muskets in a wagon, but given that titans are the big threat…"

"Alright, then let's go!"

…

"You ever see anything like that?" the jaded captain asked his superior.

To the commander of the Survey Corps the answer had to be a resounding "No, I have not".

He had seen plenty of military outposts in his day, but the sight he was seeing through his spyglass was unlike anything he had seen.

The few tents near the strange structure were larger and much better lit than any of their own personal ones.

The strange machines carved hills with the ease of a hundred workers with pickaxes, and instead of a large walled perimeter, the strange mobile cannons were surrounding the camp, occasionally moving their turrets, as if scanning for the enemy, large and brilliant lights that shone more than any candle or torch probably made it easy for them to see, and then there was the issue of the large structure at the center of it all…

His attention was quickly drawn to the pair of vehicles that were making their way out of the secure perimeter, bright lights emitting from the front reflected the green grass.

The vehicles passed the odd machines and moved with a purpose… towards them?

"What should we do? Should we approach them?"

Commander Erwin wasn't sure how they did it, but these machines were not exactly something too insane compared to the other curiosities on the hill, really just horseless carriages. What he was unsure of was what these strange men wanted.

"We stand our ground here. If what you said is true, then they should have been able to kill us by now, and yet they haven't."

The captain shrugged, finding that he was actually more distracted by the excited fidgeting of the girl with goggles on her head than the mysterious machines headed their way.

The vehicles stopped at the foot of the hill they were on. Erwin could see that there was at least one man on the top of the vehicle, holding on to what he was certain was a kind of gun… what kind he didn't know, but he had no intentions of provoking these strange men.

A door on the side suddenly opened, not unlike a carriage, and a small figure popped out of it.

The small figure ran towards them and stopped a meter away from him.

_Is she wearing a Survey Corps uniform?_

Crashing her right arm over her heart, and her left arm behind her back with glee, the girl saluted the officer before declaring her identity.

"Private Ilse Langnar, Second Batallion, 34th Expedition! Reporting!"

Erwin winced at the statement, but Levi was entirely caught off guard by it.

"Wait, the unit that was completely wiped out last year…" he half asked, half recited from the report he had read and memorized several months prior.

"Yes sir! I have… so much to tell you!"

Erwin glanced behind her at the man in a green uniform and raised an eyebrow. Said man had gotten out of the larger of the two vehicles and had approached them almost cheerfully.

"Commander Erwin, I presume." The man stated in an accent the commander did not recognize.

If he had been paying attention to the young man in the top of the smaller car, he might've noticed the soldier roll his eyes.

"Yes?"

"Commander Erwin, I am General Connor, United States Marines… that doesn't mean much to you right now, but… well, we have plenty to talk about back at our station, if you would like."

That was the one thing the Survey Corps commander was certain of.

"Um… General?"

The man nodded to the young girl before recalling what he had told her less than a minute ago.

"Ah, right. I don't suppose any of you have a spare horse so that Ilse can answer some of your questions as we make our way back? She _is_ part of the Survey Corps after all."

"Here, I have a spare." Petra chimed, earning a smile from the now _officially _back in action scout.

The general got back in the car, nodding for them to follow him.

"Ilse, we'll have to wait to get back to the walls to confirm your identity, but I'll take your word for now. Who are these people?"

Quickly thinking, she went back to all the information she had been absorbing in the previous year, she recited the important things first.

"Well, they're a military force from a country called the United States that exists just beyond that structure over there." She stated pointing at the large gate.

"On the other side? You mean that Building over there takes you somewhere else?" the tired captain asked.

"Yes, sir! On the other side lies a world where titans do not and never have existed. Humanity has been able to advance technologically much further beyond the gate than in this world…"

An excited noise came from behind them, but they all promptly ignored Hanji, she would get her answers soon enough.

Erwin stared at the girl.

Every single word that had come out of her mouth sounded insane, yet he was looking at the evidence right in front of him.

They followed the curious vehicles down the hill and towards the gathering of curiosities they had never dreamed of.

Hanji glanced at the larger vehicles with the turrets, quickly noticing a couple of men sitting on the top, drinking something.

"Huh… hey, Levi, I think these people have discovered a way to make fortresses mobile."

"Brilliant." He muttered back without emotion or interest.

"Um, they call them tanks. They are similar to mobile fortresses with cannons and machine guns." The survivor of the lost second battalion stated.

"They call them _tanks_? They should have gone for something more destructive, not something that holds water…"

"We can ask them about that later, right now we need to know what they want with us." Levi said, glancing at the girl.

"Well, deep down they want to help us, captain. But if you want them to be more specific…"

…

Erwin, Levi, Hanji, and Lagnar stood inside the surprisingly cozy tent, facing General Connor and his officers. They all surrounded a table with a map and several papers, some with pictures on them, and after a brief moment of pause the marine general spoke up.

"I suppose Ilse told you who we are, at the least."

"Yes, you come from a land beyond that gate; a land where titans have never existed and humanity has been able to advance far more than in our own world. Your nation in particular stands for individual freedom, the pursuit of happiness, and liberty from tyranny. But that's just lip service, is it not?"

The marine general grinned at the blonde man.

"Well, I wouldn't say you're a hundred percent right, but I would admit that all Ilse explained to you is probably stuff that makes us look as good as possible."

The girl almost opened her mouth to protest, but ultimately remained silent.

"What exactly is your… nation's objective here, general?" the shorter captain asked. He was accustomed to assuming that there was no one outside the walls, but now…

"Well, we had this… gate, doorway, open up in one of our most populated cities, which is also an international trading hub, and when we discovered that it leads to another world where a hostile species is slowly pushing humanity towards extinction, well… Our goal is to secure the area surrounding the gate, which has already been done, but also to secure a mutually beneficial alliance between our two countries." The general said, rubbing his chin slightly.

Erwin maintained a stoic expression, eyeing the general.

It hid an excitement he hadn't thought he could ever experience again. This was an opportunity, not just to reclaim the land lost to the titans, not just to ensure that humanity got its freedom back, but it would potentially prove the theories his father had taught him.

Yes, these soldiers were from another world entirely from the looks of it, but they were human. Yet still, he needed to know…

"General, you are aware of our situation."

"Yeah, Ilse told us of the attack four years ago. I won't lie, commander, we had made a plan should contact with you not been made before the end of the week. We wanted to seal up the broken wall before moving in to make contact with the rest of the population."

_Confirmation!_

"W-wait a second! You could have sealed up Wall Maria in a week?!" Hanji half yelled before Erwin could ask properly.

"Hell, we could be doing it right now if we weren't busy orienting ourselves. But we need a flat ground to land our heli- uh- flying machines."

"_Flying _Machines?!" the odd girl yelled, glaring at the girl that had been to the other world, who nervously began staring at the ground.

"Well, they have… several different types of flying machines…" she said, smiling as politely as she could without making eye contact with the excited scientist. She had been ready for an interrogation, but this felt more like leading a child through a toy factory, explaining stuff that was mostly basic knowledge of how things worked while the others were only interested in the toys.

…

Outside of the tent, the rest of the team was trying not to eavesdrop, and they were not alone. It was an odd mixture of boys and girls in completely different attire. Some had a green, blotted uniform that was filled to the brim with gadgets the scouts couldn't figure what they were for and weren't sure about asking.

The others were the legendary Survey Corps, the ones Ilse had spoken about and described as the best chance humanity had in defeating the titans, but most of the Americans saw them as kids, just as scared as they were when they went into that strange land.

Neither of them wanted any misunderstandings.

Petra glanced at the soldier with the darker skin tone. She wasn't sure if she had seen _anybody_ with that tone in her life. But skin color aside, the equipment he was wearing was _definitely_ unlike anything she had ever seen. What intrigued her, and probably most of the scouts, was the squawking that would occasionally sound from the small box on the vest the man wore.

Said soldier would reply into it like it was completely normal.

_A communication device of sorts?_

The soldier noticed, and smiled at her.

"If I might ask, how the hell do you use those?" a voice she didn't recognize asked.

She turned and saw one of the other soldiers from somewhere else. He was clearly young, maybe her age, maybe younger, but the gear he was using was still unknown to her. Unlike her comrades, these men were able to walk silently, not burdened by their heavy gear that made more noise than usual in the field.

Just what all that gear was for remained unknown to them all.

_And if there's one thing that scares anyone, it's the unknown._

Still, she straightened herself out; she had been asked a question by someone who was most likely a recent recruit in his own world.

"Well, it is a rather complicated system of gears, but you are able to fire hooks with great accuracy and a fair amount of freedom considering the length of the cable."

"I figured that much, I meant how do you fight the giants with… well, literal swords."

She blinked, surprised by the question. Before she could answer, however, she was cut off by one of her comrades.

"With training and accuracy, you dolt! I doubt it's as easy as shooting them down with your mobile fortresses, but we can manage without them." Oluo stepped in, acting rather hostile with the American soldier.

"Yeah, it can't be easy… sorry about that." the young soldier replied courtly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever… hey, is it true you have flying machines?" he asked changing the subject quickly.

Matt nodded at the question.

"That's insane, I always figured it was possible with big enough balloons, but I have no idea how you make a large _machine_ that can fly." the girl said.

"I wish I could tell you more, but most platoons here, including ours, are mechanized infantry or Armor, not Air Force."

"Ooh, hear that Petra, _Air _Force. Our friends here are just _infantry_. Tell me, when do we get to meet these elite Air soldiers? I bet they are far more impressive than-"

"Hey, you watch your mouth, old man, every other branch of the US military _hates_ the Air Force, and right now they're not here." a second American approached the conversation.

"_Old_ man? Forgive me, but are you talking about Eld? He isn't that old, right Eld?" the older than he looked scout called.

"Please don't drag me into your fights." The other man groaned.

"Bah, don't you want to teach these spoiled kids a lesson or two in respect?"

"Dude, he sounds just like my dad… it's kind of unnerving." Dave whispered to his friend right before the chestnut haired girl jabbed the old looking kid in the ribs with her elbow.

"My apologies for this idiot... I know he looks all wise and old, but trust me, he isn't."

"Hey!" Oluo complained, but Petra simply kept talking.

"Anyway, how come the other branches hate the Air Force?"

"They're nerds."

"Cocky pains in the ass… most of them."

"God damned rich kids."

"Um…"

"Remember that one F-22 pilot back in Jersey? Bastard had the girls at the bar all over him."

"I bet at least one of those girls was a Russian spy. I bet intelligence must've had so many leaks that month…"

"Uh…"

"I met this one pilot back in Arizona, the dude kept bragging about how the Marines always get hand me down equipment, while the Air Force actually has tax payer money invested into it. For-"

"I think you just poked an anthill, Petra…" Oluo whispered to the younger girl.

"Hey, you guys can't be that different… inter-service rivalries happen here right?" Matt asked.

"Inter-service?"

"Uh, you're the… Survey Corps… there has to be another military branch that is just insufferable. Right?" he asked, earning a response.

"The damned Military Police!" the man who hadn't wanted to get involved declared loudly.

The Army and Marine personnel turned to look at him.

"They are the worst people here. They enlist, and then they work their asses off, not because they plan on fighting the titans or using their skills to benefit humanity, but because the top ten new cadets of every regiment are allowed to join the Military police and live within the innermost wall! And not because it is dangerous or needs certain titan fighting skills, _no_, they all join because it's the easiest branch to live in!"

_Hmm… maybe soldiers really are just soldiers no matter where you look…_

…

Back in the tent, the commanding officers and their subordinates were doing their best to ignore the conversations outside and plan their strategy.

"If you can get the supplies and helicopters tomorrow, and we bring some of our own, we could theoretically fly to the district and plug the hole almost overnight." Commander Erwin stated as he glanced at a picture of the flying machines these strange soldiers were offering for their mission.

"Maybe not overnight... The reinforced barrier would need to have some foundation built, and you guys need at least some extra time to allow your cement to dry. We could speed it up with some equipment we have on standby, but even then it would take us almost a day to get it done…" General Connor noted.

Even with America's logistics being the best, plugging a hole more than sixty feet tall with a reinforced barrier would take at least most of a day given the materials the Army was bringing through.

"So we're going to have to engage the titans no matter how you slice it." Levi stated.

"Does that really matter? Plugging the hole in the wall in less than twenty-four hours! It isn't just unheard of, it would be the biggest engineering feat in this planet's history!" Hanji exclaimed.

_Well… in this world…_

"Commander Erwin, what do you think?"

Erwin stared at the pictures he had been given.

He liked it. Simply land these machines on the top of the walls and wait for nightfall. Then one group would work on building the foundation for the wall and another would explore the district, executing what titans they could before sunrise.

_Should the enemy make a move…_

"These… cobras… how far can they fire with accuracy?" he asked, the general turned to Ilse who took a breath before speaking up.

"Thousand meters on the main gun… the anti-tank- the larger missiles it carries can go for a few miles with great accuracy." she said, already familiar with the weapons coming through.

Erwin ignored the amazed exclamation from his subordinate and smiled.

"I say we go forward with the operation."

General Connor blinked, glanced at his subordinates, and nodded.

"Alright then. Let's gather the troops."

He moved to exit, ignoring the doubts the shorter captain was making known to his superior.

"Think we can get it done? Never tried something like this…"

"We've never had an _opportunity_ like this; it has been almost five years since the wall fell, and more than a century of the titans walking the earth as if it was their play thing. We haven't had a single victory since and if what Miss Langnar says is true…" the commander glanced at the girl, who quickly stood at rigid attention.

He smiled slightly.

"For once, we may have a chance to gain a victory in this awful conflict that plagues our world."

Levi didn't reply; moving to follow the American general outside…

…where all the other Americans and their own members were actually arguing like children over who had met the most arrogant soldiers…

The short captain allowed some cautious optimism.

_Maybe this is the beginning of something good._

…

Oluo covered his eyes from the rising sun as he stared at the gate, where several trucks carried the metallic birds out of the dark opening.

"I thought they would be a little scarier than that…" he mumbled to the chestnut haired girl.

Yes, the odd mouth and teeth that had been painted on them made them look like strange, snake like creatures, but the larger ones were no longer than some titans, and the regular ones were almost like the cars and carriages they were used to seeing, only with odd metallic bars stretching from the top.

"Damn… you'd think the Marines would be bringing some of the newer stuff…" Jake muttered, staring at the old looking Cobra attack choppers, and Hueys that genuinely looked like they had last seen action in Vietnam. The Army was bringing in entire squadrons of Chinooks for cargo and troop transports, and at least _those_ looked like they had actually been taken care of.

"What newer stuff?" Dave mumbled back.

"Hey, remember you guys are still stuck with the Humvee. Is comparing our stuff really something you want to do when you're still using a vehicle from the previous generation?" A nearby Marine called out.

"Hey! Our girl works fine. And we didn't get stuck trying to put our Humvees together in Iraq!"

"Yeah, whatever, man. Glad your car does what it was asked to do."

The Marine smirked, laying himself back slightly, comfortably standing next to the intimidating MRAP.

The M114 Humvee looked like the cheaper toy next to it. Arguably worse for the small group, it looked like an _**old**_ toy when compared with the scattered amounts of newer and shinier Army JLTVs.

_At least there were only a couple of those to show off…_

"Well… you showed _him_…" Matt called from his post atop the vehicle, watching over the field ahead of them.

The Abrams tanks sat there in the distance, silently waiting for the enemy to crawl or walk up from the horizon. Not too far behind them, the other soldiers from the so called Survey Corps were wondering around, the ones that had kept watch alongside the tanks the previous night were now switching with others who had been allowed to sleep.

"Think we'll get sent to help in the sealing of the wall?" Dave asked, tearing open an MRE.

A mildly irritated Ilse stomping behind him answered the question.

She sat down in the passenger's seat and crossed her arms, pouting like a little girl.

"Uh-" Jake began only to get cut off.

"General Connor says the _Marines_ are going, along with most of the Survey Corps veterans, but_ I_ have to stay here." she declared, the sixteen year old girl suddenly manifesting and speaking over the combat veteran that had survived the cruel titan infested lands before finding her way into another world.

"Well, yeah… I don't know what we could do. The choppers are going to get filled to the brim with personnel and supplies, so our old girl can't go. And even if we packed the M-K, they're taking the Cobras and putting friggin miniguns on the hueys. I doubt they'll be lacking in firepower." Jake pointed out.

Off in the secure and now flattened field, several men were loading 20 millimeter rounds up into the old attack helicopters, while several others were placing different types of machine guns on the smaller ones.

"Still… I waited so long for this moment, but now I have to sit back while the commander and the rest of the corps accomplish the big mission." she sighed.

"Hey, don't worry about that. Pretty sure the second the hole gets plugged we'll have to be put on stuff like titan hunts and clean up duties, so you'll still have plenty of time to do good." Dave said.

The girl sighed, nodding. She was surprised how quickly it seemed the titan threat would cease to be a problem within the walls despite a major population of titans still living nearby. Deciding to change the subject, the girl turned to the young man on top of the Humvee.

"Hey, Matt, how come you don't say much?" she called to the tired looking soldier.

"Huh?"

"How come you don't talk much?"

"…A very wise man once said that being a man of few words save plenty a friendship… plus, if I spent my very, very sensitive vocal cords on telling people about my riveting life of cleaning toilets, military gear, and other things I wouldn't be able to yell at these guys when they suddenly decide that adding charcoal to Cocoa Puffs to heat them up with a lighter is a good idea."

"Every God damned time-" Jake groaned.

"Next to a munitions box."

"Matt-"

"_During _live fire exercises!"

"Jesus, how come a guy makes one mistake you gotta keep reminding him of it?"

"How come the Army still lets you carry a carbine with live ammunition?"

"…I'm beginning to get the feeling you guys aren't exactly the best of the best." Ilse stated.

"How can you tell?" the three soldiers asked in unison.

"Maybe the fact there's a Marine escort _for_ the escorts?" the Marine standing by the MRAP replied, deadpanned.

"…My dad says they once tricked a whole unit of Marines into thinking the Crayola boxes they bought were new MREs and a whole bunch of them actually bought it… guess he's a liar." Dave mumbled.

"Wait, what-?"

The radio cracked to life.

"Contact, contact, we have hostiles at a thousand meters, north east, coming up on the hills."

"Whoop, time to stand by until one gets into range, which they probably won't…" Dave exclaimed, grabbing a pair of binoculars just as the tanks opened up.

"Ha-ha, don't jinx us." Jake muttered as he grabbed his carbine.

"Yeah, we _are_ short four tanks after all." Ilse replied.

_**Boom!**_

She stared at the smoking guns, a look of concern on her mind.

_I hope they make contact with the rest of the corps…soon…_

…

Mike Zacharias was a man of few words.

Loyal to the point of being compared to a dog, he was more than happy to take charge of the remainder of the corps whilst Erwin took a large contingency of scouts to investigate the sight an excited Hanji and concerned looking Captain Levi had mentioned seeing.

That had been almost twelve hours earlier.

The expedition was supposed to head back to the walls on the second day, but after receiving a messenger confirming that someone else was out there, and said someone was going to help them seal the wall before the end of the week, well… what was he supposed to say?

This was Erwin that was sending the message, and despite the high mortality rate of the corps, the man was a gifted leader.

But something still bothered him; it was as if the air had changed. It wasn't for a lack of titans though. They had been few and far between less than twenty four hours ago, but once the sun rose up, he could smell plenty of them not too far away. They were all moving elsewhere, however, and they hadn't had much trouble dealing with the occasional wondering titan that made its way to the long abandoned farm.

That said, given all their statistics on losses, the six wounded men lying inside the barn wouldn't make any tax payers happy.

Most of the large titans that had appeared were quickly taken out by Mike; but at some point, two of the younger recruits had been closer and had attempted to take one out by themselves. The angle on one of the men had been off, and the creature bit into the man's leg. The only reason it didn't tear it clean off was his comrade who barely managed to switch gears in midair and hit the weak spot in the nape of the neck. The other four had been assisting him and had wounds varying from broken ribs to shattered legs.

Assuming they made it back, the men were looking at a sad existence for the next few years if they were lucky.

_And these were __**light**__ casualties…_

Something caught his nose then.

Not titans, it smelled of… gas?

"I have eyes on commander Erwin!" some older soldier called.

Mike turned to look at the hills. The commander and several others galloped on horses towards the farm.

"Mike! Have the men gathered the supplies?" the commander asked quickly.

"Just as you ordered, sir."

Erwin nodded, looking both excited and calm.

He then paused.

"Have there been any attacks by titans?"

"A few, sir, but there are no losses yet, just some injuries so far."

The man nodded, staring at the floor.

"How are the wounded?" Levi asked.

"Alive. All six are in the farm back there."

"Good enough. Everybody, gather around!" Erwin ordered, a crowd quickly and efficiently forming around him.

He took a breath and from his horse began the announcement.

"Soldiers, we are moving to seal the wall in a few hours!"

"Wait, what? How?" a young recruit asked.

"Last night we made contact with a group of people that were not from here. Although they don't understand it themselves, a doorway has been opened to another world." Erwin stated simply.

Confusion rang among the corps.

_Another world?_

_Impossible!_

_Right?_

"These individuals have brought weapons and technology that could help us seal the wall with minimal risk to ourselves. Using both our supplies for sealing the wall and some of the barriers they're bringing forward from their own world, the wall should be sealed hopefully by this time tomorrow."

"Um… commander, no offense, but this sounds too good to be true. Where exactly are these men?"

Erwin smiled.

"They… have a sense of humor." He said, firing a green flare into the blue sky.

Mike finally raised an eyebrow at that.

Levi shook his head. Knowing what was coming.

It took a minute, but the first thing they felt was a light rumbling, then they saw four green beasts that were seemingly made of iron, with a large, swiveling turret that pointed straight like an arrow and seemed to move on its own, like an animal.

Behind them followed what seemed to be large carriages not unlike the ones the corps used for transport, except that they didn't have horses and looked like they were made of iron or something similar to it.

Some figured out rather quickly that these were man made machines, others simply stood in silence, never having anything for reference other than horse drawn carriages, these strange vehicles mere existence might as well be impossible.

"Mike! Moblit! Mobile forts! What do you think?" a certain eccentric scientist yelled from the top of the iron vehicles.

One of the large transport vehicles had a strange white square with a bright red cross on it. It stopped near Erwin.

There was indeed a driver inside, who asked about injuries.

"Six, in the farm." the commander replied.

The man nodded and hopped off, ordering several others to move out and get the wounded.

Mike looked around him, seeing that even the so called mobile fortresses had drivers as well.

_Was this even real?_

Years of defeat against the titans had made the men of the survey corps much more cynical, despite their hopes for victory. The idea of any victory simply being _given_ to them just like that was too good to be true.

He then noticed Hanji dragging her visibly shaken subordinate towards one of the iron beasts that had four tired looking men peering from holes in the surface of it.

Yeah, this was real.

…

Levi watched with a small sense of satisfaction as a bony eight meter class titan simply went _crunch _when the American tank decided to accelerate and run it over instead of maneuvering around it. The mobile forts these people from someplace else brought with them were impressive killing machines, despite them possibly having trouble doing the same to a fifteen meter class titan. The Americans were spearheading the formation with their heavy vehicles that were still keeping up with the horses of the survey corps. The lighter transport vehicles were dead center, carrying the supplies the survey corps would use to fix the wall as well as their wounded.

"Anyone in this frequency, be advised, FOB is currently engaging a major force of hos- titans." The new equipment, radio, barked into his ear. The Americans had given a few of them to the commanding officers of the corps, ear-pieces they called them in order to allow for easier communication.

_Look, flares work great for signaling, but this is a bit more efficient…_ they had said.

_Well, they're not wrong…_

"Solid copy, we proceed as planned... should clear the forest in two minutes."

They cleared it thirty seconds earlier than they expected.

Levi struggled to count the exact number of gigantic fifteen meter types that were slowly advancing, in spite of their numbers constantly decreasing due to the heavy fire of the tanks.

Some of the members gawked at the sight. The beasts that haunted their world were being swiped aside as if they were nothing.

_Almost…_

They were getting closer, uncomfortably so, to the main perimeter of Abrams. Fire from the hill with the giant structure erupted almost immediately after one got too close, but still they could only focus on so many targets at once.

…

"Damn it, Matt, the neck!" Dave yelled, despite not being in any direct danger… yet.

"Trying! Thing keeps- God Damn It!" he cursed, the giant he was trying to take down kept wobbling awkwardly from one side to the other, the 40 millimeter grenades impacting the wrong spot, leaving gaping holes in the chest and shoulders, but not the vital weak point. The Abrams ahead of it were engaging targets at a further distance while the men took care of the closer ones.

At least, they were _supposed_ to.

But this particular target was proving annoyingly stubborn for the crew of the Humvee.

"Movement isn't an excuse, just hit the damn-"

"Oh quit crying, I got it… retards." The Marine next to them called.

Controlling the .50 caliber remotely, he let the machine gun fire a relatively long burst before the Titan collapsed a few meters from the tanks.

"You're **welcome**!" the Marine called in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

"T-thank you!" a somewhat agitated Ilse replied.

The crew on the Humvee glared at her slightly.

"W-what? Do we really want to risk damage to the tanks?"

"Man, here I thought you were cool." Jake mumbled.

The girl groaned.

_I get battle stress, but is this really their only way of-?_

The MK-19 firing up again interrupted her thoughts.

As did the panicked cursing of the men around her.

She paled as she saw a massive fifteen meter type gunning it for the perimeter.

The Abrams fired immediately, but the thing had gotten too close and _jumped_ out of the way and _over_ the tanks not unlike a ballerina, as if it had expected the large guns to fire first.

Now it was quickly moving towards the mostly exposed hill by the gate.

Right where most of the men were.

It was immediately met by machine gun fire and 40 millimeter grenades, some of which hit its leg, knocking it down.

One of the Marine LAVs fired with the 25 millimeter chain gun, breaking the monster's head into pieces, just as a burst from the Humvee pulverized the weak spot, causing the titan to slowly fade away with the wind.

No one cheered, or said anything. The support guns simply went quiet for a second as the tanks took care of the remaining, much slower, fifteen meter tall titans with their own machine guns.

"That… made it closer than yesterday's abnormal…" Ilse stated after a minute, if only to say _something._

Matt let go of the MK-19, took a deep breath, and sank back into the Humvee.

The tanks stopped firing then, as no more titans were visible in the horizon and the last one dropped to the floor, slowly turning to dust.

"God damn…" Jake muttered.

"Yeah…" Dave replied.

Even if it hadn't killed or wounded anybody, the mere sight of that monstrosity gunning it towards them was much more intimidating than anything they had seen so far. They knew the threat was deadly, but their weapons had yet to actually be challenged by anything, and yet the fact that for a moment, even a moment, they might not have been able to stop one of them was chilling them to the bone.

"Never underestimate the enemy." Ilse replied.

"No kidding…" Matt replied, rubbing his eyes.

For a while the only noise around them was the radio confirming that the rest of the corps had arrived as well as some construction material, both for their own buildings and the little project their commanding officers were cooking up with the rest of the corps.

…

"…this thing flies?" Eld asked as he stared at the odd metal beast in front of him.

The man in a green uniform with a stupid looking helmet stopped attaching a gun to the rear of the bird and turned to him.

"It better. Unless you want to go on foot." The soldier replied, returning to his work.

Levi approached his subordinate.

"So far their weapons work well, doubt their helicopters won't perform excellently."

"Any word on the wounded, captain?" he asked.

The short man grimaced.

"Two of them lost too much blood; they might not make it, although the Americans keep talking about bringing in some special medicine that might help… overall, I don't know."

"I see. Any word on when we head out?"

"One hour. That way when we get there the sun will have begun to set and the titans will start to become inactive. The Americans are already loading up our supplies as well as theirs."

Eld nodded, surprised.

He wanted to ask if this was really _it_, after all those years of trying and failing to even _start_ the slow process of sealing the walls.

But he knew better.

The captain was a usually calm man, but he knew just as much as the rest of the team that this short man carried more stress than any of them, and they didn't need to annoy him with dumb questions about a mission.

_Wait, where did he-?_

He noticed the captain had moved towards the flying machine, slowly passing his index finger along the surface of the metal bird.

"…Filthy…" he heard him mutter.

The man working on the gun visibly shook before staring at the captain.

"Uh… filthy?" the American asked.

"You have dust and plenty of dirt all over the floor, which is understandable, but the seats and windows… are not."

The American stared in disbelief.

Eld wondered if the presence of humanity's strongest had the man at a loss for words.

"Well, this one will be carrying ammunition and the gun for support, so not too many troops will ride here… hopefully the ones your team will be riding in are… _should_ be cleaner." The soldier said nervously.

Levi simply nodded with an unreadable look on his face before walking away.

Eld smiled slightly before overhearing the American mutter something.

"Jesus… this world has neat freaks, too?"

"What?"

"Nothing." he stated, going back to working on the gun.

…

"Wind, two-fifty, fuel one hundred…" Troy heard on the radio as the different pilots kept going over the lists before takeoff.

He was one of the few Army officers tagging along, and all he was in charge of were a few Army engineers that were helping the Marine engineers.

He glanced at the one of the other CH-47s, the one being loaded with the last bit of cargo needed for the completion of this mission.

It wasn't much, certainly nothing that could stop the gigantic abomination known as the Colossal Titan that was probably roaming the earth somewhere, but with the supplies from the survey corps, it should hold long enough to be reinforced with better supplies at a later date.

It would certainly hold out longer than if the Americans had just gone in with their own supplies.

Having almost a year to prepare, the Americans had amassed and created a large steel door, not unlike the shutter doors often used to protect storages, only larger, and thicker.

With the special cement mix from the Survey Corps and some steel workings of their own, sealing the wall was achievable. If only long enough to effectively fix the hole with better materials, but again, that could wait.

"All instruments are good, we are ready for takeoff."

"Understood, Hillclimber, Godspeed."

_Here we go…_

…

The beast- _Machine_ shook and rumbled as a whinnying sound increased to the point that Petra was glad the ear protection the men had given her was doing its job.

It was so stupid in her mind, she went up against the enemy without any armor to defend herself or long rage weapons. She was able to fly meters above the ground at high speeds with little issue.

Yet she was petrified of this weird machine from another world.

Her gear lay by her feet, secured to the floor, but that was little comfort.

Even more annoying, she didn't even have to look at the scientist to her immediate left to know she was enjoying every single second of the ordeal.

The rumbling then relaxed slightly, and she felt her stomach drop without moving somehow.

_Are we-?_

"Ha-ha! Moblit! Look out the window! We're airborne! _**Truly**_ airborne!" the girl yelled, the radio picking it up and broadcasting it for the whole cabin to hear, much to the amusement of the Americans and irritation of all the scouts.

Hanji was probably the only one visibly enjoying herself.

_What the hell is so exciting about being in the air?! We're constantly flying around, and with __**much **__more control over where we go! Oh-_

Moblit hid it well, but the feeling of being airborne without actually being able to control how high or fast or really anything else made the scout feel nauseous.

The rest of the Survey Corps veterans were either stone faced, forcing a calm demeanor, or simply unmoving as the machine took off into the air.

High above the strange structure, then the tall trees, and then they were able to see for miles ahead.

"Alright, Hillclimber, proceed south west until Wall Maria is visible."

Hanji wondered why the pilots kept repeating their mission objectives but decided it could wait, enjoying the view. She saw one of the smaller helicopters, the ones with big guns, fly next to them before pulling back, probably to form a formation of their own.

_Like us, but different… fascinating._

Plenty of titans were visible under them and in the distance.

Some saw them and started to follow them.

_Better to keep them off their base…_

The late afternoon sun still shone as they made their way to the ruined district where the crisis had begun almost five years prior.

Just as it began to turn into the evening sun, glowing orange, the massive structure of the walls came into view.

Troy stared in amazement. All the recon ops the US had managed to send through before the main force entered had only managed to travel a few miles away before having to pull back, never seeing the walls.

They stretched from one end of the horizon to the next, making the Great Wall of China look like a sand castle. Ilse had described them, but to actually see them made the American officer begin to realize just how little they knew about this world.

_How long did it take them to build something like that?_

Surely it had taken them centuries to do so, but if the titans had only appeared a little more than a hundred years prior, why build them? Did someone know about their threat and plan ahead?

Or was there some otherworldly technique they were unaware of?

He was forced to push those thoughts aside as the helicopters landed on the top of the outermost wall, just above the breach.

Erwin exited as the whirling blades began to slow and the whinnying engine began to die down, his soldiers following through.

The Americans hopping out of the smaller crafts and others did something he considered somewhat odd, they got on their knees, looking down their rifles as if there were hostiles nearby.

One yelled "Clear!" and they all got up like nothing had happened.

"What in the hell…?" he heard one of the scouts murmur before Hanji started with her theories.

"Ooh, very interesting, they're probably making sure no titans managed to climb up here… caution always pays- wah!"

"We could see no titans were up here from the chopper assuming that was their concern… dumbass…" Levi groaned after jabbing the scientists on the elbow slightly.

Erwin ignored it, they were all on edge as this had been the end goal of the corps for a long time and to reach it so suddenly was not only unprecedented, it was still hard to believe it was actually happening.

…

"There are way less of them around than I would have expected…" Troy mumbled to himself as he observed the giants wondering around the empty town through binoculars, many moving towards their position high on the wall. It wasn't that there weren't a lot of them, but for some reason he had expected an infestation, not unlike ants scrambling around the carcass of any dead animal, except gigantic.

He had been more than impressed with the sheer size and scope of the walls, landing the Chinooks and Cobras had been relatively easy while still giving them all a comfortable area to set up as a temporary base of operations, radios and monitoring equipment quickly set up just above the area where the hole was, not too far from a large indentation in the cement; the only evidence of the existence of the Colossal Titan.

_If found, we have to make it a priority to take it out… wonder how well it'll handle anti-tank missiles…_

The sun was setting, and the team had a special idea to clear the area of hostiles without risking themselves too much.

Oluo, however, shuddered slightly as he observed the monsters below him converge into a mob several meters below him.

"That… is… I mean…God… there are _still_ so many of them." One of the Marines muttered, walking up to him.

"Yeah, worst part is when they charge you. Even up here you can imagine how terrifying they are."

The Marine mumbled something resembling an agreement, but Oluo wasn't sure. The earlier attack back at the base had given the Americans _plenty _of data to imagine a horde of titans charging down at them, ready to eat them alive.

"C-4 charges are all prepped up!" an engineer called from the area they were amassing their explosives in neat groups, ready to be used.

Part one, distract the enemy, moving them to one side of the wall or the other.

_Simple enough…_

The titans had already noticed the flying machines and had instinctively followed them; something many more were incentivized to do as several scouts stuck themselves to the walls and acted as bait, visible but always out of reach.

Part two was more complicated. They had to wait until the sun went down and the titans stopped moving. Then the smaller helicopters would drop two teams of Americans while the veteran Survey Corps members used their own gear to climb down the walls and coordinate with units called explosives teams.

Apparently the Americans could see in the dark and would give them special goggles to do just that themselves, said ability was to plant explosives on the unmoving abominations and kill as many as them as possible in one swift move before another team scouted the destroyed district and the rest began working on sealing the wall.

Certainly more simple than slowly and methodically delivering supplies to fix the wall on a specific route in order to eventually make their way to Shiganshina and seal it after many years of moving the necessary supplies, but still, it would be a challenge.

"The amount of flesh that's going to go up in the air will be insane. You guys ever blow stuff up before?" another Marine asked, a wicked grin on his face.

Oluo shook his head, but he was extremely curious as to how destructive this so called "C4" could be.

The sun slowly set behind them.

…

With the majority of the prefab buildings still being set up, Jake couldn't help but be glad he wasn't on construction duty after the previous day.

Guard duty was a bit more relaxed, especially guarding the entrance to the gate.

The sounds of the base around him were soothing in their own way, and he could appreciate the bit of manmade noise mixed in with the nightly sounds of nature. He hadn't been able to focus on it too much the previous night, but the night sky was gorgeous.

Arguably more so than back home.

Even when he went camping, he had never seen so many stars.

"What's crazy is that they're basically the same as back home." The soldier next to him said aloud.

"Yeah… think NASA will send some probes out here?" Jake asked.

"I would think so, but not for a while. Doubt they would find much of anything, though."

This world was oddly similar to earth.

One moon.

Humans.

Green trees and grass.

Breathable air.

Really, the only weird thing was the titans. Maybe the survey corps was weird in its own way, but not that strange. Of course, Ilse had mentioned that there were forests of giant trees, but you could find some of those back home as well.

_Is this a whole new world or a whole new universe?_

"My aren't you a curious one?" a girl's sultry voice whispered.

Jake whirled around, staring at his brother in arms.

"…I heard it too…" the man said, visibly shaken.

They turned to look at the gate, M4 carbines aimed downwards, but with the safety off.

"Who goes there?" Jake called in a deep voice, irritated that he defaulted to something so simple, yet still attempting to not sound nervous.

The other soldier returned a confused stare at him.

Silence.

"Okay… maybe I'm crazy… could've been the wind after all."

"God, you white people and _it must be the wind. _Don't you retards know that that's how you get impregnated by some alien demon thing?"

"Piss off, man, I can't see anything in there. Maybe the corps members are screwing with us."

Jake stared unblinking into the darkness of the gate.

Nothing.

"Alright… we should call it in at least…"

Both men went to do just that, blissfully unaware of the magenta colored eyes gleefully watching them from the darkness of the structure that bridged both worlds.

A playful smile formed on the owner of those magenta eyes before she vanished with the winds once more.

_Things were getting interesting._

…

"I'm just saying I should have been on the mission." Ilse sighed, propping up some of the prefab material.

Mike simply nodded as he assisted with the same thing.

"But, you know, I can't complain. You have no idea how happy I am to be alive right now."

Mike simply nodded.

The girl frowned slightly.

She was about to ask the man something when Matt calmly walked over there with a hammer, looked at Mike, and offered it.

The scout saw the hammer and nodded, taking it. Matt nodded again and walked off.

Ilse stared, wide eyed.

"Um… do guys just have a secret silence code or something?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Mike smiled at her before going back to working on the prefab buildings.

Before Ilse could ask again she overheard Jake's voice in the distance.

"Just saying, if the brass thinks we're crazy and sends us home, I ain't about to forgive you."

_Wonder what that's about…_

A loud explosion was heard in the distance, followed by what sounded like bursts of automatic weapons fire.

Ilse turned to her superior officer who had narrowed his eyes.

"Five meter class if I had to guess… must've snuck up on the men riding those steele machines... Couldn't even smell it properly with all the stuff in the air. What exactly is all that? Gas?" he asked her.

Ilse nodded, she had heard of the talented officer who could smell titans from miles away but had never actually met him.

Matt's radio crackled nearby, a very irritated voice shouting "Hunter actual, what the hell is up with the night firing?!"

Another voice replied.

"Small crawler, Sergeant, almost snuck past us. Threat is neutralized now, over."

She had yet to encounter the type of titan that remained active at night, but considering how bizarre the abnormal types were, it was always possible night types were more common than expected and she knew how dangerous those could be. Even worse, the sealing of the wall rested on most of the titans being inactive during the night.

_Hope they're okay…_

…

"Fire in the hole!" a man yelled.

Erwin didn't really understand why the man screamed that just as they detonated the explosives. He knew it was to let everyone know that they were _going to _blow up a bunch of titans, but everyone was already cleared… maybe protocol…

The ground shook, a cloud of dust flew into the air, hiding the unmoving bodies of the monsters caught in the explosions.

Soon the smoke cleared and the men could count the dead monsters.

"Uh… hard to tell, but given the heavy amounts of steam I say we have a good number of tangos down… if not most of them…" a voice came in over the radio.

"Excellent, sergeant, excellent. Get some of the MARSOC guys to help you clear out any of the stubborn ones." The commanding officer replied.

_Radio… we could use that to great effect in our expeditions… saved several lives-_

Erwin pushed the thoughts away. Those who had died were being avenged even as he inspected the building materials they had brought.

Several meters below him, the Americans were already working on installing their iron gate. It was an almost comical sight as the workers had brought special tools but required help from his scouts to hang on the walls along with the equipment. Oh they had brought some ropes they were using, but it seemed that the scouts and their three dimensional maneuver gear were the far more efficient option, leaving the ropes to holding the tools and supplies.

Nothing fancy really, just flat pieces of iron linked together so that they could be rolled into a container that could drop them down and lift them up on command. But when combined with the materials the corps had brought along… it would certainly take a hit from the colossal titan to take it down again…

_Hopefully…_

He had to wonder where those destructive abominations were now. If original reports of the event were to be believed the Armored Titan survived direct cannon fire, but these American guns were far more destructive and accurate…

_How __**would **__an American tank hold up against the armored titan?_

"Your boys are sleeping, right?"

Erwin turned to glance at the American officer. He had ordered Levi and his team to rest up in one of the flying machines the Americans called a helicopter, that way they would be able to help during the final, more dangerous stages of the next day.

_Given the eerie lack of sound coming from the inside of that helicopter, I wouldn't say they're asleep, but…_

"Yes, hopefully they won't be needed tomorrow, but just in case, it's better to save our ace for last."

The American nodded before glancing at the men working on the giant gaping hole in the structure.

"On the light side of things, everything seems to be on schedule." The Marine muttered.

"Yes… do you think your men are alright?"

The commander glanced behind him then, hearing a small explosion ring throughout the mostly empty district. The possibility of an abnormal attacking in the middle of the night was a given, but not something he or any one of them could afford.

Erwin hoped his men as well as these…"Special Forces" were able to hold off or destroy any titans approaching.

…

Moblit watched as the American used his rifle to destroy both eyes on the seemingly sleeping titan. It had been sitting on the remains of a destroyed house, eyes wide open and unblinking; a disturbing parody of the humans its form tried to mimic. But despite being very much aware of the men in front of it, the beast did not attack.

It just sat there… watching, or at least, pretending to watch.

At least, until the American destroyed both its eyes with two short bursts from his assault rifle.

Two members of the survey corps walked to the left of the creature, firing their cables at its head, hooking themselves to it.

"Alright-alright-alright! Quickly now! No time to waste!" the ever energetic Hanji ordered the soldiers, both hers and the Americans.

The men collectively pulled on the cables, slowly forcing the titan to lie on its side. The creature was more than cooperative as it rolled on its stomach, exposing its weak spot.

The man that had stood by with the HK-416 moved ahead and awkwardly climbed on top of it.

Moblit figured that the Americans didn't like risking their men in order to learn basic things about the titans, but this was important if they intended to fight the enemy in a more efficient manner.

The American stared through his night vision goggles, eyeing the nape of the monster's neck. He knew simply shooting it would probably work, but if he remembered the information that had come from New York, you had to be precise.

He was somewhat startled by the energetic girl suddenly standing next to him.

"You know where to shoot, right?"

"Yeah, sort of, the issue is the exact spot."

"Well! As we discussed, this area right here!" the woman pointed with her blade, making an oval shape on the neck of the unmoving monster.

"I know that, but here's the thing…"

The German manufactured HK-416 fired three rounds directly into the nape, the sound somewhat reduced by its silencer.

Hanji observed with curiosity as the wound healed.

"Interesting…" she mumbled.

"Yeah… you guys cut the whole nape, our tanks and heavy rounds outright pulverize the damned thing… but when we use our rifles… we need more precision…" the soldier replied, unsure what that information meant for the Survey Corps, but knowing full well what it meant for him.

Another short burst from the assault rifle, this one much more focused on the very center of the nape and the beast shook ever so slightly before it began to go up in smoke.

The scientist was already hypothesizing about what that could mean.

"You know, if we could capture one we could use your rifles to pinpoint an area in order to get a clearer picture as to what we have to hit…" she mumbled.

"Well, we'll have to save that for later." The MARSOC operative stated, hopping off form the disintegrating corpse.

Hanji followed, slightly more somber now as she was deep in thought.

With all that done, the strange combined force kept moving through the abandoned district.

No noises were present in the darkness, which made the area ever more disturbing to the men and women exploring it, hunting for monsters that could devour them whole.

Several decomposed bodies remained already dry and almost gone in the ruins of the district, yet still acting as a still image of the horror that had struck humanity that fateful day.

For the American special forces team, this was… different.

Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East in general had plenty of areas where bodies littered the floor and everything was destroyed.

But not like this.

"Christ… I thought titans ate the people whole…" one of the Marines whispered, staring at pair of legs that were strewn near a house with a hole in the wooden roof.

"Not necessarily. They can't digest things and sometimes they get full, so they eat a part and leave the rest… like that one." Moblit whispered back, pointing with a flashlight towards an intact body that was missing a head.

_These things work better than regular torches… but I don't know if it makes me feel better being able to see things in so much detail…_

"God…" the Marine groaned in response. This enemy's entire existence was something that felt entirely unholy. They shouldn't exist at all, yet here they were.

There was still no noise coming from the empty buildings.

The Marine continued to stare at the bodies near the house. It didn't take a detective to figure out what happened. An almost skeletal hand still clutched a rusty pendant, moss and other plants growing around it and the pieces of what had probably once been a handbag. Someone was probably trying to grab some belongings and got snatched up and devoured right there. All that was left were those small pieces no one would notice unless they looked.

The utter silence of it all felt too heavy to ignore, yet he pushed himself forward regardless.

_Decontaminating this is going to be a-_

Moblit's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wood and bricks suddenly being shoved aside.

Similar to a landmine going off, a large figure emerged from the remains of what might have once been a bakery, tossing debris in every direction as it turned to look for its prey. It spotted them almost immediately, staring back at it in surprise, none of them certain of how to act.

Big mistake.

Its arm darted towards one of the closest humans, an odd looking snack given that it was covered in completely different clothing compared to the others she had eaten so long ago.

"Oh f-! It's got me!" The Marine yelled, partly in panic, and partly in pain as the fat, five meter sized titan began crushing him in her grip.

His buddies opened up with their rifles, taking out one eye before the thing showed some small level of intelligence and covered its eyes with the same arm it was using to hold their brother in arms.

"God- Tim, hit it with the two-oh-three!" one of them yelled, some level of panic as they tried to save the man ahead of them.

In modern war it is one thing to die getting shot or blown to bits by the enemy.

It was to be expected.

But like some of the things in this world, this was different.

Being grabbed and broken by a monstrosity like that.

Torn and chewed up in its mouth.

Assuming you somehow survived you wouldn't be digested.

You would just… slowly die in its stomach.

This was not something the Marines would ever allow to happen to their brothers, but they were clearly helpless here. The M203 grenade launcher might not kill the titan, or it might hit the man they were trying to save and simply blinding it might not work.

All they had going for them was that it was slow.

Unsure of what they could do, they almost forgot they weren't the only trained forces in the vicinity.

In one swift move, Hanji had used her gear to hook herself to the head of the monster and get above it. Once positioned over its head, she let gravity take its course and fell to the ground, swiftly cutting the nape of the monster's neck in one second and landing on the ground like nothing had happened the next.

The creature stammered and fell to the side, releasing the Marine.

Moblit watched with some degree of pride as the Americans stared dumbfounded at the speed with which Hanji had taken out the creature.

"These head torches are really something great! Hey, soldier! Can you still walk?" she called with glee.

The marine rolled to his side, clutching his chest while taking heavy breaths.

"Let's get a med evac, now!" one could only imagine the internal damage a beast like that caused.

"…rine…" the American breathed.

"Excuse me?" Hanji asked.

"Rine… Ma-rine! Call me a _Marine_ or my name, not a soldier…" the man groaned at the energetic woman as he lied on his back.

"Or… maybe not? " the other American mumbled.

"If I could read your name tag I would call you by your name. Unfortunately I can't do that… yet." The girl said, grinning.

"I-"

"Take it easy, dude. If you can walk we only have another street to clear. But maybe we should get you to a medic back at the wall."

"I'm fine… just… out of… breath…"

"Splendid! Then we move forward! Onward men from another world!" she said, marching down the street again.

The Marine turned to Moblit.

"She always like that?" the Marine asked.

"You get used to it."

…

The rising sun brought both hope and dread to the commander of the Survey Corps.

On the one hand, they had survived the night with minimal casualties… by the American's standards. By Survey Corps standards this was unprecedented.

One Marine with a pair of fractured ribs, courtesy of an over enthusiastic titan, and one survey corps scout who had twisted his ankle while walking on the roof of a decrepit house that almost collapsed with him on it.

But the American officers seemed… concerned.

"…and it was moving slow. We've seen what the quick ones can do." He overheard them mutter amongst themselves.

"The Cobras, Chinooks, and Hueys are fully stocked, as long as we conserve ammo and missiles, we should hold them off long enough."

Erwin glanced at the men now adding the materials the corps had brought along to the hole.

Said hole in the wall was sealed for all intents and purposes, but it was more than a little important to finish reinforcing it.

_And that cement needed time to dry._

"Captain!" a voice came over the radio.

The Army lieutenant listened in.

"Our eye in the sky detected _several_ large groups coming over the hills… both inside and outside the walls…. Time's up."

"Levi!" Erwin called.

The captain and his team had gotten little sleep the previous night despite their orders to be well rested.

But it was enough. The four elites ran up to their commander.

"The hole in the rear wall is our biggest concern right now; keep them away from the teams finishing up the reconstruction here."

"Understood. Let's move, people!" the captain ordered, his team moving with purpose.

Troy watched the team throw themselves from the wall before hooks shot out and stuck to the walls, using their gear to swing along the side of it, moving quickly to reach the hole on the other side, where the threat of titans was just as bad. White smoke reminiscent of jets back home was all they left behind.

"Primitive tech or not, these guys are legit." One of the MARSOC operatives mumbled as he finished setting up the .50 caliber M82 Barret anti material rifle.

Troy himself had picked one up in order to assist with the men on the ground. The walls made for excellent sniper nests, and the Special Forces were more than happy to take advantage of that.

The .50 caliber rounds might not help too much, considering the distance, but it might just be enough to make a difference.

The sound of the helicopter engines starting up let Erwin know that this was indeed the final push.

_No… not final…_

This was the first.

The first of many needed to reclaim the land beyond the walls. He was unsure if he would see the day when the enemy of humanity was wiped from this earth, but he would give everything to bring that day within grasp.

"Contact! Uh… thirty plus enemy approaching, bearing south…" the radio chattered, the pilot was oddly calm at the statement, but it mattered little to Erwin.

_The fight began, and all hands would be on board this time._

…

Unlike his brethren, his face was permanently contorted into a frown. He had no memory of who he was… nothing concrete at least.

He somewhat remembered lots of blood.

Lots of blood- why would that be one of his memories? Did he even have a past? That memory of lots of blood suggested he did.

But it didn't matter.

He was stuck.

Something was telling him that he was walking towards… something…

He saw them, and it triggered another memory.

Walls.

Large, impenetrable walls.

Just like back home.

He must have had a home once.

But he was outside this time. Why would he want to go back in?

The electrical signals in his head that barely classified as thoughts were interrupted by a noise he did not recognize.

Up above him…

What was that?

He stopped, as did another one of his brethren, one with a larger head that was barely supported by its much smaller body.

He saw several odd figures flying high in the sky.

_Release!_

The thought multiplied over and over in his head. He knew that if he could just… _eat _the right person…

He extended his arms as far as he could but to no avail.

He heard what sounded like thunder…

Then he didn't think anymore.

"Creepy how they reach out to us like that…" the Marine yelled as he poured led into the advancing crowd of titans, the M134 more than up to the task. Most of them had kept going, ignorant of the helicopters above them, slowly killing them from behind as they advanced towards the walls.

But two, one large and one slightly less so, had stopped and tried to reach them by extending their arms as far as they could.

Two rockets from a Huey gunship had stopped them in their tracks, the smaller craft dancing around the slow monsters.

Despite this, the enemy kept moving forward.

They would be whittled down little by little, but several others were making their way.

An advance that could only be slowed down or fully destroyed. There was no reasoning, no convincing them, of stopping their continued push to destroy humanity.

The Marines in the helicopters frowned briefly at the implication, and kept firing into the horde.

…

"Now!" Levi yelled over the sound of the American Cobra firing into the enemy formation up in the sky above him and his team.

A large and _very _fast abnormal was gunning it towards them, and despite being shot to hell, the vital weak spot was never hit before it reached the broken entrance into the Shiganshina district.

The second it reared its smoking face through the hole, all five members of team Levi swarmed it, Petra and Oluo cutting its upper joints while Levi and Eld focused on its ankles, all limbs were cut or made useless in an instant, the comparatively small blades more than capable of doing their own damage, before Gunther finished it off with a simple cut to the neck. Any one of them could handle this on their own, but it was much less risky to do it as a single, deadly unit.

"God damn!" a voice in the radio exclaimed, quickly being followed by others.

"Nice."

"Color me impressed."

"You guys aren't half bad."

"Damn it! Cut the chatter, jarheads! We still have a fight on our hands!" the last voice screaming over a burst of automatic fire, heard both on the radio and in the distance.

Levi forced himself to ignore the annoying radio chatter on his ear. The communication device the Americans had given him was an amazing piece of technology, but it was also an easily converted tool for distracting and annoying the men doing the fighting.

The cobra attack helicopters above him continued to fire into the relatively small crowd of titans approaching them from the inner side of Wall Maria, knocking them off one by one.

"How much ammunition do you have, Cobra… one and two?" Levi asked, almost forgetting the call sign for the helicopters above him.

"We're good, captain."

_Yeah, unless a large mass of them runners creeps up on us that is…_

Levi pushed the thought aside and nodded to his team, listening to the engines of the helicopters above him. He moved his team to reposition themselves on the walls as more gunfire erupted above them.

"This really makes it easy, huh?" Eld asked, feeling both relaxed and excited as the situation continued to escalate. "We really might just reclaim the wall by today!"

"Stay alert, abnormal titans are a challenge even against these machines of theirs…" Levi replied.

He couldn't have been more right.

…

"God damn it! Little ones are clumping up en mass; 20 millimeter rounds aren't gonna cut it in time, switching to hellfires!"

Erwin stared as the rockets shot out of the flying machine above him at incredible speeds towards the group of small titans that were running at full speed towards the team finishing up the sealed gate.

The explosion was more smoke than fire, but it knocked down all the running beasts. Granted, temporarily, but still, better than nothing, and the smaller helicopters suddenly started to riddle them with heavy rounds of ammunition. After just two seconds, the mass of six meter titans was a slowly dissipating mess of flesh. It was a chaotic sight, the flying machines moving quickly, just out of reach of the monsters, but still visibly struggling to keep them off their comrades below, barely managing thanks to the fire support from the top of the wall.

_And that didn't include team Levi guarding the rear opening… he couldn't imagine how bad it would be if those beasts got to the still wet construction from the inside._

They would easily tear apart the men working on the reinforcing the steel with wooden pillars unless they were evacuated on time, and even then they could accidentally break said pillars apart, although it would be less catastrophic than if the beasts reached the outer structure before it was finished.

_Just added a problem to the already precarious situation…_

"How much more, commander?" the American officer asked, observing the ongoing battle through his binoculars, his foot tapping nervously.

Erwin moved to the edge and made a call through the radio.

"Everything is in place, but it still needs some time to dry up completely. I would estimate about twenty more minutes and we can get the men out of there. By that point most of the abnormal titans should have been dealt with and the other much slower ones won't be able to reach it before it's fully dry." He breathed, speaking almost mechanically.

The commander of the Survey Corps was shocked, he… _they_ were just a mere twenty minutes away from achieving the first victory for humanity.

To be fair, it wasn't exactly easy.

A random titan came running from the onslaught of projectiles, it was large, but along it were two others that the American flying machines had focused on before quickly turning to it.

It got uncomfortably close to the men working and finishing the structure.

Erwin heard the helicopter fire another missile before the radio crackled to life again.

"That's about it for the hellfires. Our commotion seems to be quite the attraction for them."

"Yeah, Cobra three and four, focus on harassing and distracting the others, keep them off our guys." The other American barked into the radio.

Erwin stared at the mixture of men at the bottom of the wall.

Mostly Survey corps with a few Americans, neither of whom were anywhere near as armed as the tanks he had seen on that hill.

Survey corps with their gear, Americans with their own… his men in particular were still on the reinforced seal, looking for anything that needed to be fixed before the cement fully dried.

He held his breath as yet another group of titans emerged over the horizon, the flying machines firing as they moved closer before pulling up, allowing the others that were still flying around to have a go at the mass.

_Just hold on… just a little more…_

…

"HERE THEY COME!" the man from another world yelled some meters away from him.

Moblit shook his head, trying to wake himself up.

True, he had helped in the night operation, but he did _not_ want to leave the others shorthanded… plus…

"Come **on**, Moblit! Those fliers can't keep them all off of them!" Hanji yelled, hopping from the tree they had been standing on, some tiredness seemed to present itself in her voice, but it could be his imagination. The woman was just as energetic as the small helicopters dancing in the skies above them.

The trees around the entrance to shiganshiha district were not exceptionally large, especially when compared to the forest of giant trees that grew further within the wall, but it was enough.

The titans getting through, what few had managed, were small, easy to handle and dispatch. As he sliced through a particularly skinny one, he wondered if he had managed to decapitate its head entirely. He didn't bother getting distracted as a few others tried running at him forcing him to pull back slightly before they got close enough to grab him. one hopped into the air, mouth wide open, snapping shut just as he jumped away, his gear pulling him from the, now very real maws of death. The abnormal actually made a face as if it was frustrated. The growl of an American helicopter gun sliced through the air, tearing into the monster, many bullets missing their mark, but they were too many and too fast for the shooter to ever miss the vitals, killing the abnormal titan.

_Lots of those up and about…_

His biggest worry, however, was that the colossal or armored titans, the ones that had actually started all of this, would appear again. Though he wasn't certain, he had noticed that the Americans were not firing their far more destructive rockets anymore and that may be an indicator that they were either low on them, or completely out.

Hanji might have known since she carried a radio, but…

"Alright, that's that… Commander, is that the last of the runners?" she asked the small box.

Nothing.

She blinked, realizing she had pressed the wrong button and asked the question again.

She was laser focused on ensuring the success of this mission.

Tracer rounds flew above them then, a slow, five meter tall titan appeared from behind a tree. The high caliber rounds of ammunition tore its face to pieces, which didn't kill it but caused the Marines to hold their fire as the creature flailed about, seemingly in pain, before another one of the scouts hopped onto it, fully decapitating the head.

"Hanji, get yourself out of there, the closest titans are dead and the others are too far away to cause too much trouble. We need you all out of there now! It's time to test if this works or not." The commander's voice cracked on the radio as the lifeless titan fell to the floor.

The moment of truth had arrived.

One of the smaller helicopters landed and in quick succession picked up the few Americans while the members of the survey corps gunned it up the wall with their gear.

Hanji hopped onto the ledge, startling one of the Americans with the large rifles, and immediately whirled around to look at the titans.

Though she would never admit it, she held her breath, truly worried of the possibility of the beasts breaking through their newly established barrier.

But with no visible entrance, the slow, dimwitted creatures simply stopped in front of the wall, glanced up at the food out of reach, and stupidly began trying to reach for them, ignoring the recently dried cement.

Nobody celebrated.

"So… how do we know it's solid enough?" Troy asked no one in particular. None of the titans were actively scratching on the newly sealed wall, making it hard to tell if just how effective the structure was.

"Err… it should be dry by now… did… did we succeed?" Hanji replied, turning to her commander.

A minute passed as no one spoke; nothing but the sound of helicopters hovering in the air filling the void.

Seemingly unsatisfied, Erwin hopped off the wall, using his own gear to scale it until reaching the top of the now sealed breach, the smaller titans moved towards him, desperately clawing the cement in an attempt at climbing up to reach him.

The seal held.

With that confirmed, the commander moved back up the wall, landing in front of the still silent team. The Americans were seemingly confused by the lack of cheers, though Erwin knew his own men wouldn't cheer yet.

_To gain that much without a single loss after losing so much was… unbelievable. _

The golden haired man breathed, turned to look at the American, looked behind him and said "It's rather… anti-climactic…" he smiled slightly.

"Congratulations, Commander." The American officer said.

He didn't show it, but the commander of the Survey Corps felt a heavy weight fall on him. Humanity's first victory in a hundred years had just been achieved and yet all he could worry about was the deaths he had indirectly and directly caused.

_How many died just to bring us… me… here?_

And still he knew nothing.

No new information about the titans had been gained.

No information on the mysterious colossal and armored titans had presented itself. A part of him had secretly hoped that some answers would present themselves on the way, but none had.

_If that pair was intelligent and they wanted Wall Maria destroyed, why didn't they show up?_

Perhaps they could get some conclusions from that knowledge on its own but it left more questions unanswered than answered.

_Worse still, the new players…_

They were as in the dark as he was about that strange gate and the titans.

But they had helped achieve the first real victory in a century against these mindless monsters.

Many, many questions had to be answered, but…

He smiled as he saw the oddly cheerful Americans congratulating the Survey Corps members.

…

Oluo stared at the giant metal shutters covering the hole in the wall before turning to Petra to ask his question.

"But what if they do?"

The girl sighed, "Can we just appreciate the respite? Why do you have to bring up the colossal titans now?"

She was _trying _to enjoy the break they had gotten. Most of the titans within the wall had moved to follow the Cobras as they returned early, so the inside of the Shiganshina district was empty of threats.

Then Oluo had to bring up the possibility of the wall being breached again.

"Look, missy, I'm a realist, and we have to worry about this sort of thing. These Americans probably didn't even consider that possibility." He mumbled the last sentence, getting the girl to wonder something before she asked him.

"Are you _jealous_ of our new allies or something?" the girl asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"What?! No! I'm just saying they have no long term plan for monitoring the most vulnerable spot in our defenses! Think about it! Even if we secure the second breach in the district, we won't really be able to come back here until the whole of Wall Maria is clear of titans. And unless they establish some sort of fort here, which they don't have the men or the supplies for, how will any of us know if there's a breach? I'm telling you, Petra, they did not think this thro-"

"Break's over, you two." The bored voice of their captain stopped Oluo in his tracks.

Levi handed his two teammates an object that looked like a stake with a mirror ball on the top.

"What are these?" the young girl asked.

"The Americans call them sensors; they will tell us if titans have breached the wall. All we have to do is plant them near the entrance. Now come on, they're already getting started."

"Wait- how do these even work?" Oluo asked.

"How should I know, but they have something even stranger if you can believe it."

Somehow, despite preparing themselves, they still couldn't believe it, and neither could the majority of the corps.

"Once the signal is set, we will have 24-hour monitoring of the sealed breach. If something happens to our work, you'll be the first to know. Well, we'll be first, at least until we can install some electrical equipment in your own office." Troy told Erwin as he showed the surveillance system his engineers had set up.

"How is… how does this _**work**_?!" a fascinated Hanji demanded, grabbing the American by the chest and pulling him uncomfortably close to her.

"UH- light reflects off… um… I don't know the exact science, but it sends a signal that shows us what's happening here to a computer a certain distance away, like our radios but with pictures… um, no not pictures… think of a telescope!"

The brown haired woman looked frustrated with the answer, but dropped the soldier. Troy sighed.

"Uh… guys?" Troy asked his engineers.

"Look, it works similar to our radios, but the process is not exactly the same either. We can talk about it back at the FOB later if you want." one of the men said.

"Hmm, that would be much appreciated. I have plenty of questions, though…"

The young man smiled politely, saying "Ask me whatever you want; I'll gladly help where I can!"

Nobody noticed the look of turmoil on the two members of team Levi as they wondered if warning the guy about just how demanding the scientist was, but ultimately resigning the Army engineer to his fate. Erwin even seemed to be about to say something, but kept quiet.

Troy checked the camera once more.

The small camera and its equipment were solar powered, and had a decent broadcasting range, one that the Americans could send to their own base and inform Erwin of any emergency at the wall. The same could be said of the sensors the scouts had placed all around the sealed breach, so any unusual seismic activity would be picked up and sound an alarm back at the FOB.

Erwin was aware of the cameras, but to be able to keep an eye on their work while being miles away… he was impressed.

Troy smiled.

…

By the time the helicopters touched down, the sun was already dipping below the horizon and there was a small crowd of Survey Corps. Members gathering near the landing sites, which were now somewhat more developed since the squadron took off the previous night.

Erwin wasn't used to the warm reception he found himself receiving when the flying beast opened its doors and let his units out into the secure area the Americans had built.

"We saw it! We saw the sealed wall!" someone cried.

"This is the first victory for humanity in a hundred years! How does it feel commander?" another much younger scout asked loudly.

"Everybody calm down, the commander has earned himself a break." An older officer, Erwin wasn't sure who, said.

He wasn't surprised to find Mike walking over to congratulate him as well as lead him and the other scouts into what was _very _quickly becoming a small town. Ignoring the small tents the corps had set up, the Americans had several wooden structures all lined up neatly, not unlike most of the nearby villages within the walls. But the structures, though wooden, seemed far sturdier than mere tents, another reminder of the technology these soldiers from another world brought with them.

"They build fast, and after you left, most of the titan attacks stopped." Mike stated.

"I think they followed us in the flying machines."

"Oh…"

"But there were no casualties, at least, no fatalities, and the wall is now sealed. Saying that I'm impressed would be an unbelievable understatement."

"I understand, their tools and weapons are beyond anything we have ever seen."

"Yeah, I guess when humanity is busy fighting itself, it can come up with some _very_ efficient killing tools." Levi mumbled as the scouts were approached by the man that went by General Connor.

"Congratulations, Commander, I hear your men performed splendidly." The man said, smiling politely.

"As did yours." Erwin said, shaking the general's hand.

"Well, go ahead inside. I would like to have a private word with you in the officer's chambers, but your subordinates can go into the mess hall, the City of New York sent us plenty of dishes to celebrate the success of the mission."

Erwin nodded for the rest of the scouts to go ahead as he followed the General down a different path.

Levi watched the men walk away, a part of him wondering what they would discuss, but he already had a decent idea of what it could be. Upon turning to continue down the street he realized his entire squad was standing around, waiting for him not unlike loyal dogs.

"Well, what are you waiting around for? Let's go eat."

A large structure seemed to be the center of attention at that hour, with lots of noise coming from it.

It was oddly clean inside.

Then the smell hit them.

"What… _is_ that?" Petra asked.

"I don't really recognize many of the smells, but go ahead, the food is great." Mike said.

The scene was oddly homey for a relatively bare structure.

Levi could tell the tables were cheap from a distance, seemingly made up of some kind of plastic, but the Americans sitting in them were chatting away happily like nothing.

Not unlike his subordinates.

The Survey Corps didn't exactly get a very high budget, so a lot of their furniture was outdated or cheap, yet he rarely heard a complaint come from any scout about the accommodations.

Some of the Marines that had worked during the night walked past them, one saying "Son of a _bitch_, they brought Pizza over while we were gone? God _damn, _do I love New York!"

_Pizza?_

The usually stoic and bored captain was surprisingly impressed with the buffet presented to the scouts. Meats, fruits, vegetables, really any food brought along with them on missions or at their bases was stored in wooden boxes, having to be constantly cleaned before being served, and even then there was a strong chance of it being filthy and in need of more cleaning. The budget never spared much room for sanitation much to Levi's chagrin.

_But this… oh, this was very different._

The food rested on incredibly clean plates, seemingly kept warm by the material said plates were made of. Though it seemed much of the food had also arrived in boxes, Levi noticed that these strange circular bread loaves had a clean paper beneath it to guarantee the food remained sanitized in its delivery.

_These Americans took their cleanliness __**very**__ seriously…_

The thought was challenged by seeing a Marine drop a slice of food onto the floor, yell something along the lines of "five second rule!" before picking it up and eating it in two bites.

_Never assume…_

"So… what exactly _is_ this?" Gunther asked, studying the triangular slice of bread that seemed to have some kind of cheese melted over it… along with other ingredients he didn't exactly recognize.

"New York Pizza, best in the god damned world… both of them!" the American handing him the plate said cheerfully.

"That… doesn't really answer my question."

"Wheat, cheese, marinara sauce-"

"Mari- _what_?!"

The American stared at the man with uncertainty before simply saying "Um… it's a sort of sauce that… you know what, let it speak for itself. Enjoy!"

Realizing he wouldn't get any answers, Gunther moved on with the rest of the team, all of whom were standing awkwardly, looking for an empty table.

Levi had noticed that the two types of Americans, Army and Marines, had subtly different uniforms, same for their respective officers, but he wondered if officers and the enlisted ate in separate rooms, much like the Military Police, or if it was a bit more relaxed. The fact the Commander and the General went and ate elsewhere suggested that officers didn't eat along with the enlisted men, and yet-

"Yo! Captain Levi!"

A young man was waving at him, as if to summon him and his team over to the table, which aside from a few other soldiers was rather empty.

Petra recognized the American as the dark skinned man she had seen that first night, suddenly realizing the same unit was there, including Miss Langnar.

"Come on! Sit over here! plenty of room!" the colored man called.

Ilse had a look on her face, which suggested that she was either having trouble breathing or seething with anger, Petra couldn't tell. She gladly sat down next to her captain, who raised an eyebrow at the men.

"You know, seeing you up close, you're way shorter than I expected…" the dark man said, smiling.

Ilse covered her face.

Levi glanced at her, asking "These guys looking out for you or something?"

Without looking at the officer, Ilse nodded.

"I apologize for my friend, Ilse mentioned that you were the strongest or something and… well…"

Matt was unsure of what to say, Jake had been the one to invite these five elite troops over, and he wasn't exactly used to _talking_ with the elites, even if he was the most responsible guy in his little squad.

Or maybe the way the Captain seemed to look into one's mind and soul with those piercing eyes had a way of making one nervous…

"I see. So… Miss Langnar?"

"Yes!" the girl almost yelled.

"How exactly _are_ things on the other side? Nowadays, I mean." the captain asked.

Ilse looked at her superior, noticing that the entire squad had yet to even touch the food.

"Well… people are friendly, it's very safe…"

The captain eyed the Americans before asking "How many wars are there going on over there right now?"

_Huh?_

"Um… I don't have an exact number, but not as many as one would think, actually… form what I read, they're living in the most peaceful time in their history."

Levi nodded.

Matt raised an eyebrow, saying "Captain, if something's bothering you, feel free to ask. We're on the same team after all."

"Just being cautious. Maybe a little curious..." Levi added, glancing at another table where a certain scientist was furiously writing down the information an exasperated engineer was reciting.

"Well, you haven't tried your food yet… you guys have an officers eat first policy or something?" Jake asked, also noticing that none of the members of team Levi had even touched their food.

The four members of the team glanced at their captain, who simply nodded.

Almost as one, the four scouts inspected the bizarre food, and took a bite out of it.

"Huh… tastes pretty good." Eld mumbled.

"Yeah, a bit hot, but… nice." Petra smiled.

Gunther simply nodded.

"I've tasted worse." Oluo said.

"Captain?" Jake asked as Levi took a bite of his own.

The captain shrugged.

Jake stared at him intently.

"It tastes good." he said unceremoniously, unsure what the American wanted.

Jake groaned.

He handed Matt and the other soldier a little green box.

Ilse shook her head.

"Never bet against a Jew…" Jake muttered.

"I'm Turkish…" Dave added.

"I meant him…" Jake said, signaling towards the survey corps captain, who seemed unsure of what the word _Jew _meant but didn't care enough to ask… yet.

"Oh, right, I wanted to ask!" Petra said suddenly, interrupting the Americans.

"Ilse, I've noticed that despite them all being American, many are… very different."

Ilse looked at the girl in confusion.

"Like… how come your skin is so much darker than his? And the two of you have way darker skin than him." she said, pointing to Matt.

It was Matt who regained his composure fast enough to ask "Are… are you asking why their _skin_ is darker?"

The chestnut haired girl nodded, sensing she might've asked the wrong question.

Dave began to chuckle.

Ilse grabbed a napkin and covered her mouth with it, cleaning something.

"W-what?" Petra asked.

"Well, their world never had titans, so humanity was never driven to near extinction, so all those races that are rare here are abundant on their world, and the US has plenty of people from _all over_ the world, so…" Ilse said quietly.

Petra shook her head.

"I think my little friend here just wants to know is _why_ your skin is different. What kind of land do you hail from that changed your skin so drastically?" Eld asked.

Matt covered his eyes this time.

"Oh, my God, you guys are so naïve…" he mumbled.

"Hey! Watch your tongue! Unlike your Marine friends, you boys didn't do anything!" Oluo protested, shutting up the young soldier.

"Uh… Naïve wouldn't be the word I would use either, Matt…" Ilse replied.

"Why would he think we're naïve?" Levi asked, now curious himself.

"Ah- N-n-n-not naive! _Misinformed_ would be the- I mean that in a- I- I- uh…"

_If eyes could be equated to firearms, Levi would have battleship cannons…_

Before Ilse could answer, Jake cleared his throat, getting the attention of the others.

He forced a polite smile, saying "Uh, Let's just say that the world is a _very_ big place. And there are all sorts of… people living in it. There are lands that are entirely made up of sand- and I mean like... Imagine an entire valley made up entirely of sand, and then apply it to the entire land mass, there are places with whole valleys made up of salt or ice… or places where the sun doesn't shine for an entire month… or entire land masses made up of ice… people actually live in lots of these places, so… different places, different people." He finished simply.

The scouts blinked at that.

"Whoa…" Petra's mind was busy trying to imagine the lands described, the previous subject forgotten.

Levi was silent.

He had grown up literally underground, and now that he worked with the corps, he knew how large the world really was. But he had never once considered just how different it could all be… he hadn't had the chance or the points of reference.

Lands made up of salt and ice, places the sun didn't shine… Was their world like that as well? Was it all within reach now? Flying machines, carriages that didn't need horses; with these advancements, could they establish bases beyond the walls finally?

Thinking about it, he took another bite form the odd food known as pizza.

_Didn't taste half bad…_

…

"So… we shouldn't expect a hero's welcome then." General Connor sighed.

Erwin nodded with little emotion.

"Well, our representative is coming through, and she knows a lot about negotiating… maybe she can work some magic… thanks for the heads up, Commander, I'll let the officers know."

"Thank you, General, I'll send a messenger back to the walls to inform every one of the success of the mission."

"Right, and if you want, I'm sure some of the food should still be on the table. We'll worry about the king later. Enjoy yourself for now, you've earned it."

Erwin nodded and exited the small building.

He had wanted to say more, but he wasn't sure if he should share all that information just yet. His suspicions of the history books, the odd unquestioning attitude everyone had towards being the final remnant of humanity… even he couldn't technically disprove that they weren't all that was left…

_But what proof could anyone else bring that they were, in fact, all that was left?_

But sharing that information right now was not exactly wise in his mind. No, he would see how the Americans reacted to their own governing body first, build a bond, then bring up the worries he had and see if they could do anything about it, but even he was uncertain of what the king and his men would do with this new reality.

He could imagine that the king would- _should_ be impressed and thankful of the wall being retaken.

But all he heard whenever progress was made by the Survey Corps was that it cost too much and wasn't worth it.

He could only hope things would be different this time.

With all of this in mind, he eyed the starry night sky, wondering what awaited him in the following weeks.

He wanted to be optimistic, especially now, but a part of him suspected that this was only the beginning of a much harder struggle.

Rest would not come easily to him.

…

_You must return home!_

_I promise, all the answers are in that basement!_

_Just hold still, this will only take a second!_

_Dad- __**what are**__-?! _

"Eren!"

The teenager opened his eyes to an annoyingly familiar sight.

Most boys his age would kill to have a girl of that caliber looking at them the way she was looking at him, and many in his own unit were silently jealous the girl only worried about him.

But to him, it was a slight annoyance more than anything else.

Oh, it wasn't because he disliked her or took her for granted; he was just mildly annoyed at how often the girl tried to play the maternal role that had been robbed from them both at a young age.

He managed a groggy "Yeah?" as he began sitting up, the cart they were on made it impossible to sleep while it moved in the early light of the rising sun, stars still visible in the sky, but the events of the previous night had made it an annoyance he could ignore with relative ease.

_Damned thieves…_

"You were talking in your sleep." The dark haired girl said, a subtle worry lining every word.

"Oh… yeah, I had that nightmare again…" he found himself admitting, albeit begrudgingly.

All the other members of the 104th trainee squad that were in the same cart with them were fast asleep in spite of the first rays of the sun shining down on them as they moved back from the mountains.

"Maybe we should see the base doctor when-" the girl began. She didn't mean to sound repetitive or overprotective, but Eren was the _only_ family she had left and she would first tear apart every monster outside the walls before letting harm befall him.

"Mikasa, it's not a big deal… I just… I guess we have to make our way to that basement eventually. Someday... until then I have to just ignore these nightmares. But I'll be just fine until then." he sighed, a little more optimistic than usual, but that was more in order to get the girl off his back.

_Something that wasn't easy to do…_

The cadets were slowly making their way back to their home camp, an incident had occurred during their training which had almost resulted in fatalities after several… _unwelcomed_ visitors attempted to steal their equipment. Cut off from many of the villages, they had to fend for themselves, leaving the thieves to the garrison troops that were there as guards once they had been taken care of. They hadn't received any news from home in weeks, and even then, unless it was something monumental, they would be too distracted discussing the events of the training exercise. It was a trial by fire for the young soldiers, one they managed to pass with flying colors. No one died, and the threat was not only contained, it was handled fairly well even when the violent thieves had taken a hostage.

Confidence was gained by every cadet that wasn't named Mikasa Ackerman.

No, all she gained was the sick feeling in her stomach that came with knowing that she could never be by Eren at all times, meaning that her family was vulnerable, which by itself meant that she could easily lose it all whenever he wasn't near her.

_It was much to think about…_

So distracted were the young cadets that they never noticed the pair of strange Military Policemen chatting by the entrance to the camp.

So very distracted were the young soldiers that they never even heard one of them utter the words "The wall is apparently sealed, but what I hear suggests that there are way bigger problems."

So very, very, distracted by the events of the previous night that they had no idea they had missed on some information on that rare monumental occurrence that rarely happened.

No, the young cadets evaded the knowledge of life changing news for one more day, too worried about their individual problems.

But the knowledge would come for them soon enough.

* * *

**A/N: So, **_**that**_** split form the main cannon much faster than I expected. Major characters show up for the first time here, and I always worry I didn't handle them right. At the same time, one of the bigger end goals of the main series just got solved in… what, three days? I just can't see a modern Army coming through and not act to seal up wall Maria in the first week, let alone the first month. It would make the situation far more manageable for all parties, make the titans a more manageable threat, and it would be a bargaining point at any negotiation table the US might have to set up with the government within the walls… I just didn't see it**_** not **_**happening. Hopefully the whole way it was done felt realistic, but let me know if it wasn't. (I keep worrying I may have both downplayed and over played the titan threat given the numbers coming from beyond the walls) I also wanted to show that despite our modern tech, it was thanks to the Survey Corps the wall was sealed up as fast as it was, since it would take the US more time to effectively seal it on their own without maps or guides.**

**Of course, things are very different from the main story now and the cannon divergence will hopefully be enjoyable for you to read. I wanted to add a little more of Eren and Mikasa talking, but the chapter was long enough, so I will save that for the next chapter.**

**Thank you all so much for reading and all the feedback; I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. Anything you believe should be done better or differently, feel free to leave a review to let me know, they are all greatly appreciated! Any advice or suggestions on how to handle the cast or other story elements are also welcomed and greatly appreciated, so feel free to let me know! Thanks once again for reading, and I hope to have the next chapter up soon! **

**Right, and before I forget… VERY IMPORTANT- these first two chapters didn't really have many spoilers for the manga or anime, but be advised, starting in chapter 3 there will be MAJOR spoilers for Attack on Titan. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Hearts and Minds**

* * *

"…let them know that we sent you…" the young man quietly moved the paper to the side of his desk before taking a second sheet in his hand; obviously, the top story of the day. Taking a quick drink from a cup of water by his side, he began his job as a political commentator for a certain podcast.

"Alright-y, so! Fantastic news from within the gate- the other world within New York City! God what a- what a _crazy,_ crazy timeline we're living in, _but_… Good news for the president, good news for us, good news for _everybody_ today. So, the top story is of course the information coming from the FOB US troops established, oh, what, two, three days ago? Basically, contact had been made with the military on the other side of the gate, the other military faction that is within the walled enclaves of humanity in that world- but not only was friendly contact established, an ABC report from within the gate confirmed earlier today that alongside this Survey Corps, if you remember Ilse Langnar described them in her one interview, US troops managed to seal this breach within the walls that had also been described in her interview."

The young political commentator couldn't help but grin as he said that.

_Time to tear into all those hippies that whined and cried about going through being a terrible idea..._

"This just goes to show you what the American military can do. In less than _two days _we solved what to our new allies was a literal existential crisis! If left alone, they would have lost way more people trying to fix this problem, and if what the original reports say are true, then those are losses they _cannot_ afford. What's even better, no fatalities! Not only did we fix their problems in a day or two, we did it without losing a _single one_ of our own or their own men. I keep saying, the US military is the most powerful force in the world, and all these hippies need to have a little faith in our troops… all those angry college kids protesting, thinking its 1970 again… idiots… Anyway, the important thing now is establishing political relations with the governing body, something that should be easy enough; we saved their asses for crying out loud… so, political relations should be a breeze." He said with a wholehearted laugh before moving on to another subject.

Somewhere else, in another studio, another political commentator was broadcasting his two cents on the situation.

"So… apparently this operation was incredibly successful, which, great, if it helps these people, sure. What worries me is that…" he frowned slightly as he tried to formulate the words. He had been _strongly_ opposed to US intervention in the lands beyond the gate from the beginning. Sending aid? Yeah, sure- but putting boots on the ground?

At least, as many as were sent?

_No._

"What honestly worries me is that we may be looking at another Iraq, maybe even worse since it could be by complete accident. How so? Well, we have no idea how these folks will react to American tanks, cars, _values_. We know the one person that made it here was not susceptible to our own illnesses, and she didn't bring anything with her, but there is still a-a major risk of a disease breaking out on either side, and my biggest concern aside from all of that is the possibility that the local government might collapse or disintegrate on its own, kind of how the body stops producing adrenaline when it thinks it's safe."

He took a sip from the water bottle he kept nearby.

"Now, _maybe_ I'm just being pessimistic, I could always be wrong, but these are real possibilities. We could see the government think it would be better to hand over responsibility of its people to the US, or we could see them getting inclined to do so under CIA advisory- but enough negatives, lets at least talk about the _best_ case scenario, something everyone seems to think is going to happen after the latest news. Of course, the president wants to treat this nation as an ally, _possibly_ granting the people there dual citizenship if they so choose, could be an option, I mean, the doorway connecting us is in New York, so… maybe that could work, I don't know. What I _do_ know is that many companies already want to step up and get started on modernizing of the other side, which might be good; of course it really depends on the company. Uh, regardless, of both the media optimism and my own pessimism, I _do_ think that there is a fair chance that things will at least go well, US troops along with a US representative are heading to the capital of this walled society, mostly to discuss this gate, what we can offer them, what they can offer us, all that capitalistic opportunity, you know the drill… weirdest first contact ever, but who cares, really? Hopefully they don't let the fact that we solved one crisis make them overly trusting… anyway, in other news… so Fox news, the absolute _idiots_ that they are, think…"

…

"I said you are all under arrest!" the man with a unicorn on his jacket shouted at the members of the Survey Corps ahead of the small American convoy.

"Christ, a brother can't even get a break in another world."

"Unoriginal _joke_, jackass. And shut up!" Matt hissed.

Jake ignored the kick to the back, but stayed quiet.

Everything had been going fine! The Abrams fit rather awkwardly through the gate to the so called Wall Rose and Wall Sina, but they fit and were necessary for the trip back.

Regardless, the civilian population had reacted… oddly.

Oh, when the horse riding members of the Survey Corps rode through, they were cheering, ecstatic to have their land back, or at least, having won a victory against a supposedly invincible enemy. But the second the first Humvee drove in, they got quiet. Then the MRAPS followed, then a pair of LAVs, and finally four Abrams and an M88 recovery vehicle, tank crews awkwardly waving as they drove by, as by that point everyone had at least switched from uncertainty to curiosity.

The streets had been tight, but the convoy made it through without any real problems, and it had been smooth sailing from then until they reached Wall Sina. The members of the Military Police were, for lack of a better word, visibly incompetent. Despite Erwin sending messengers, the MPs hadn't even said anything when the Americans drove in after the Survey Corps, just staring in silence, some looking downright frightened.

Then they were making their way to the center of the interior wall when they met several of these Military Policemen who stopped the convoy. They introduced themselves by _raising_ their muskets, some of them bringing out small cannons even.

Before Erwin could even ask, the visibly nervous commanding officer for these idiots in uniform declared that they were to be arrested!

It really didn't help that the MPs looked nervous as hell, and none of them were following the basic rule of trigger discipline, the perfect environment for a gun to go off accidentally, something every competent soldier there understood.

"Dude, tell the marines ahead to gun it, I seriously think these guys are gonna shoot first." Dave stated.

"Dave, you _will_ stay quiet!" Matt hissed in an angry, almost parental tone.

_They _had four tanks, the MPs did not.

_They _had fully automatic rifles capable of piercing just about all body armor available in a pre-industrial society, the MPs did not.

_They _had Kevlar armor and armored cars, the MPs did not.

_But still…_

"Forget that, I'm checking if-"

Before he could check the radio, it crackled to life with a very irritated sounding voice.

"Anyone listening to this; hold your fire, sit the hell down, and don't do anything stupid. Let our commanders do the talking; this is probably just a misunderstanding."

Levi.

The admittedly short officer had moved his horse towards a Humvee and grabbed the radio, probably intending to relax the troops… or at least to order them to relax.

Matt shifted nervously at the way the voice sounded like it was somehow _glaring _directlyat them despite being a message to everyone with a radio.

The Survey Corps captain was already leaving a mark on the Americans.

"Captain, what is the meaning of this?" Erwin asked the visibly nervous officer.

"Uh… T-these people are from outside the walls! You declared as much in your let-"

"The entrance they came through is situated within Wall Maria, not beyond it. And if the king did _not_ wish to meet our allies, or have them arrested, then why not send word sooner? We outnumber them after all."

"Silence! If… if you want to go through, then wait until my orders change… but the girl that brought all this upon us… one… um… Ilse Lagnar, is to be put under immediate arrest for violating royal law."

"Wait, seriously? Are you really going to ignore all the-?" Hanji protested, pushing her horse ever so slightly forward in an attempt at talking directly to the officer until a bayonet stopped her.

"I just have my orders! N-now please, let's not make this any harder than it needs to be. Now, who is Ilse Langnar?" the man said, seemingly oblivious to the single Survey Corps member hopping from her horse, visibly shaken, but still cooperative.

Before Erwin could interject, order the girl to stay down, the Military Police officer said "Ah, her, the one with the weird vest. Someone grab her, please."

One of the younger MPs rolled his eyes and walked ahead, aggressively grabbing the girl's arm in order to put iron chains on it.

Ilse protested slightly as the MP harshly pulled her away from the horse, which led to the doors on each Humvee and MRAP popping open as several _extremely _pissed off US Marines decided that sitting around was _not _on their to do list right now.

_Oh no…_

"The hell is this?! We fix your goddamn wall and _this_ is how you treat us?!" one of the Marines shouted, walking angrily towards the MP.

"W-wait a second!" Ilse stammered out.

_The situation cannot be allowed to escalate, damn it!_

The MP suddenly slammed the Marine down with relative ease, much to the surprise of both the Marine and the young MP.

"This… is not your place, now sit down." The MP replied calmly.

The Marine got back up immediately and balled a fist when an Army sergeant spoke up.

"Alright! Enough! Commander, why the hell do they have to arrest Ilse? Did she break a law?" Sergeant Roy interjected and called to the stone faced commander.

"I doubt it, though maybe one can interpret some obscure law about not leaving the walls and apply it here, perhaps?" Erwin replied, glancing at the MP Captain who nervously nodded.

"That isn't very productive to talks, Commander. Captain, I am afraid that while we would technically have to allow you to arrest Ilse, your actions may result in communications between our two worlds becoming exponentially strained. Is that what you want to do?"

_That _struck a nerve with the Military Police officer.

"I-I-I-I did not… all I have are the orders g-g-given…I-I-I-"

"Calm down, captain, let's just… talk…" Erwin said, putting up as much charm as he could.

Levi frowned… what the hell were the king and his advisory _thinking_ to send an incompetent hack with little information like this?

…

The truth was, they had not been thinking.

They had been panicking.

The most powerful men this side of the gate were and ever since the walls went up always had been, mere puppets; always presenting an organized front, always pretending to be trying to help humanity, always going out of their way to at least present an image of order.

_What a joke._

These men hadn't passed a single law in their entire lives; all of those had been passed by the first king so long ago. All they were responsible for was deciding what level of force was necessary in order to enforce them, if even that. It was deciding that and they would also decide how to split the budget every year. But even with so little work to do their lives were always rather stressful, especially for the extra member present in the room.

For a king, Rodd Reiss did not look the part.

At any first glance, he looked little better than a well-dressed owner of a shop, perhaps a noble, but certainly not royalty. Slightly overweight, a disheveled appearance, dark shadows under his eyes, but the most telling sign was that he had no idea what to do. Since a child, he had been told to follow, never lead. Even during his rebellious phase, when he and his brother had made such bold plans for fighting and ending the threat of the titans, he had always followed his brother's lead.

He thought he would know how to react to any given situation as long as he had that guide.

The breach of Wall Maria, the Colossal and Armored titans, and the direct and horrifying attack on his family… even if he could deal with all of that rather easily thanks to the resources available, it ultimately left him without the guide.

Somehow he had managed, though.

Even if things went to hell, he could always just shut humanity within the last wall and continue the wish of the founder, the one who had decided that humanity must remain within the walls.

The survey corps had always been an excellent tool for proving that point. Their major losses inspired many to carry on the torch, but it would always be fewer and fewer that went to pick it up, and with the memory of the original founder constantly passed from one heir to the next, everything had been going peacefully for the population in spite of the constant losses. Pretty soon they would have all been perfectly complacent to forget the lands beyond those walls.

_But now…_

The constant questioning that filled the room made it difficult to think.

"Word comes in claims that their weapons can kill any titan in one shot! One shot! How is that possible?"

"Without the founder, how can we fight against them? _How_?"

"My king, excellency above all, we beg of you, what should we do?"

They followed him now, having total faith that he at least knew the will of the founder.

_But if the stories were true, then this was beyond him._

"Gentlemen, this is clearly beyond our current king. I should remind you that despite knowing the last two carriers of the founder he never did carry it himself." It was one of the older men in the group who spoke, no malice in the statement. "I have taken it upon myself to take action in order to delay the enemy."

Rod and the rest of his advisory stopped dead in their tracks and turned to look at the older man.

"Deltoff… what did you do?"

"My liege, I sent a Military Police regiment to stop them outside the entrance to the capital. They are to detain them and the girl who mysteriously survived outside the walls. That way we can avoid-"

"Are you out of your _**mind**_?! I gave no order for such an action to be taken! Someone call them off right now!"

"But- my liege-"

"We need to see what they can do first you dimwit! And if the rumors are true, they could destroy us faster than the titans could, or conquer us and make us their slaves just as fast! You _will_ give them a personal apology the instant they come through those doors!" the true king yelled in anger and panic as a pair of MPs ran out the door.

The MPs were followed by a tired, visibly irritated man who simply sighed as he went to clean up yet another mess caused by the Reiss family.

…

_How did it ever come to this?!_

Ilse had now been standing between two men from different worlds glaring daggers at one another as Erwin kept calming the MP Captain down.

However, the younger MP was visibly angry and had been trying to provoke the Americans.

At first it was just with petty insults, but then…

"Look at you, wondering around, thinking you own the place…"

"Last I checked we could wipe you off the map and take this world for ourselves. I hear there are only titans beyond the walls and we can handle them with ease." The American growled; a doglike grin on his face.

"Captain! These men are threatening to destroy us!" the MP shouted, removing a blade and aiming it at the Marine who immediately put a hand on his M4.

Ilse grabbed both the blade and the rifle in a panic making it impossible for the Marine to shoot or for the MP to stab.

Although she cut her hand on the blade… and if that carbine went off she might lose a finger… or a toe depending on the angle…

_Damn it all…._

Before it could escalate, though, some men appeared on horseback and called out, distracting the respective officers on the scene.

"Let them through, Deltoffe was just panicking." The older of the other officers said in a calm and tired voice.

"F-first brigade? Yes Sir! Let them through! Withdraw!" the captain immediately retreated, though the angry MP lingered for a second before shoving the marine aside and walking back to his horse, leaving him to tend to Ilse's cut.

Matt narrowed his eyes at the odd group of Military Police officers, several of whom were glaring daggers at them, not unlike trapped animals, but the older MPs, the ones that had arrived looked… dangerous.

Their bored faces and studious looks suggested that these were the elites of the Military Police much like how Levi and his team were the elites in the Survey Corps. Matt was somewhat surprised the short man had been completely stoic during the whole ordeal. Even he had considered turning the MK-19 in the general direction of the men and letting off a single round if it came down to a standoff, which it had essentially turned into, but it wasn't exactly American policy to shoot first, and as much as he would've liked to do so, it really wasn't something a disciplined soldier should do there and then.

But he could dream…

He noticed then that the Survey Corps captain was returning death glares at the MPs.

_Really now, who were these guys to act with so little discipline?_

It was just the first of many clues as to how disorganized and divided the military leadership was on this side of the gate.

And if Matt had looked even a little more he would have noticed that one of the seemingly high ranking officers that stopped the situation wasn't wearing any emblems and appeared to be actively trying to hide his face.

…

Rodd paced impatiently from one side of the royal hall to the next, his advisors watching nervously.

"Your majesty, they will be here soon, you should-"

"I want to see what Kenny has to report before I make any decisions, _gentlemen_." the true king replied, unaware of how much like a growl his voice had come off as.

The men fell silent, as the main door opened up and a very calm Kenny Ackerman walked into the hall.

"What happened?" Rodd asked nervously.

"Bah, the idiots were more than glad to be relieved, and the strange men in green had kept their cool for the most part. They're as human as you and me from the looks of it."

Rodd sighed, more than a little relieved himself given the fact that he had avoided a major catastrophe should his soldiers have attacked these strange men, but still, he couldn't allow them to disrupt the perfect peace his lineage had created, so with a quick breath, he spoke up.

"You will ask few questions other than how they got here and what they plan to do, I will be hiding in the wall near the left exit, listening in. if you have doubts, look to Kenny, I will tap twice for yes, once for no, and he will _discreetly_ show two or one fingers accordingly. Don't let them think they own the place, don't let them do anything outside Wall Maria, don't let them encourage anything we have deemed dangerous. Understood?!"

Kenny hid his annoyance at the job while the other men nodded, unquestioning in their devotion to their physical god.

_Even if he was just a stand in until they could regain the true founder._

…

Ilse awkwardly opened the door to the American politician, the blonde woman sighed as her security escorted her into the large building.

She whispered a simple _thank you _to the young girl that had been helping her country, not because she couldn't say it out loud, but because the building was deathly silent. The many guards of the Military Police simply stood there, staring at her and her people as if shadow monsters had materialized in the hall.

"We are here to speak with the king and his council." Erwin said, startling the woman.

The guards nodded, leading them up the stairs and to the main room.

The young girl couldn't believe she was about to meet the king.

_The _king!

The last remaining ruler of humanity on her world!

The man who was ultimately in charge of protecting all that remained!

The man who had made the toughest decisions during the fall of Wall Maria!

The man who… looked like he hadn't had a good meal in years…

The doors had opened to reveal an incredibly tired and bored looking old man and several other stone faced old men who were glaring at the people entering.

She actually found it difficult to recognize the king, even if he had plenty of art pieces all over the nation; he just looked so… frail.

Her mind went back to a previous American president she had read about, one who had entered office looking quite young, yet aged twenty years in the span of eight.

_Clearly, the same had happened here._

She glanced at Erwin who, alongside herself, saluted the king before speaking.

"Your majesty, I am certain you have heard already, but in case you haven't, wall Maria has been sealed and operations to exterminate the titans within it can commence at your discretion!"

The old man sitting on the throne didn't even nod, it was one of the fatter advisors who leaned forward slightly before saying "Yes, commander, and while that is certainly _fantastic_ news we… are very concerned about the means through which you did it... as well as the phenomenon occurring within the lost territory." He said slowly, carefully even.

Ilse did her best to hide her confusion.

Shouldn't they be happier about this?

Was fear that big a deterrent from them celebrating?

Had they just celebrated before?

Paranoia was understandable given the situation, but why would titans or humans that were in favor of the destruction of mankind within the walls want to help them in any way?

It just didn't feel like the paranoia was warranted.

"Well, sir, the situation isn't exactly understood by them either, but the best way to explain it is that a sort of doorway has opened between our world and theirs."

All the men standing by the king stared in a shocked silence.

"A-another world…" one of them mumbled, the insanity of the statement apparent but also undeniable.

"Correct, Miss Langnar over here first discovered it after getting separated from the main force of a previous expedition almost a year ago. She helped the people on the other side stop a titan incursion and found out just how efficient their technology is."

Instead of appearing interested, the king's men gave worried glances at one another.

In their eyes, this was not something good at all. Oh, sure, wall Maria had been sealed, off, but this was opening up a whole new threat to the land.

"So… excuse us but… why would… you… come here?" the question was directed at the Americans who had been standing silently behind the scouts.

The representative took a breath and spoke up "Well, sir, our intentions are simple, to secure the opening between our two worlds. The doorway, if you will, opened up in one of our most populated cities, I'm actually a representative from there- and we don't want another titan attack occurring in the most-"

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SIMPLY SEAL IT?! **WHY** ARE YOU _**HERE**_?!" a shrilled yell interrupted the US representative.

Everyone turned to look at the oldest man amongst the advisors, his face red with misguided anger. If he could see King Reiss behind his hiding spot he would find the middle aged man covering his face in abject frustration.

"Please forgive Deltoff, ever since Wall Maria was attacked he has been paranoid of… everything. He was the one who misguidedly sent the MPs earlier…" The fat man said, exasperated.

"I'm not paranoid! Why on earth would they come here?! What's in it for us?! What's in it for them?! Huh?!"

Ilse took a breath.

"E-excuse me, sir, but… you sent that brigade of Military Police to intercept us, yes?" Ilse asked as politely as she could.

"Yes! What of it?!"

_Here we go…_

"Well, if I may, they were rather unprepared… they decided to intercept us just outside the building instead of at the main entry, which would be a bottleneck for an army without 3D maneuver gear. I believe one benefit would be that the Americans could send better trainers to boost security around the walls." Ilse said as respectfully as she could.

It had been the plan to have her suggest the idea a little later, but it seemed that the situation called for it then.

The old man raised an eyebrow.

"That… answers one question…but what exactly is in it for _them_?" he growled back, sounding like a lion despite his old age.

"Sir, we would like to establish trade, be allowed to bring in explorers, scientists, people that can help you out while also benefitting us; businesses, innovation, stuff _everyone_ can benefit from. We believe we can eliminate the titan threat not just within the walls, but outside as well. You can't retake the world alone, sir, and we could help you out with that, benefitting ourselves in the process- a sort of… mutually beneficial alliance." The US representative stated calmly, suspicion written in her eyes.

_Something was off here…_

That seemed to calm the man down slightly.

In fact, the mood seemed to lighten as the advisors looked at each other, smiled and one of them calmly answered.

"No."

…

Rod wanted to scream in his hiding spot.

_Those bastards decided without my approval! Damn them! Kenny!_

"Kenny! Give them a heads up! Now!" he hissed

The interior police officer sighed and did the required signal with his hands, sliding a finger across his neck as if he was scratching an itch.

One of the advisors noticed, and quickly interrupted the other man who was explaining some made up garbage about how preserving their way of life was important.

"Of course, we would genuinely appreciate the help… as long as certain conditions are met."

Erwin, Ilse, and the Americans collectively raised their eyebrows but never commented on the odd switch of pace.

Rod sighed in silent relief. The destruction of the titans took him back to a time long forgotten now.

"What exactly would those conditions be, if I may?" Commander Erwin managed to ask while the US representative was still trying to understand the last pair of statements.

Rod narrowed his eyes from his hiding place.

The commander was a… problematic man. It was _very_ unfortunate he had been the one to make first contact. It would have been preferable if the men from somewhere else had simply marched into the capital instead of meeting Erwin.

But now they had met the leader of the Survey Corps, and from the looks of it, certainly seemed to trust him more than they trusted the nobles that served him. And that was always assuming Erwin hadn't fed them some lies about the government, assuming he was still loyal to the king, assuming these men were peaceful and not out to conquer… things that Rod did _not_ want to leave up to chance.

Now he had to hope his men knew enough to explain themselves to these… visitors from somewhere else.

"Well… for starters, use of flying machines is prohibited."

Rod nodded in his hiding spot. It was one thing to explore the lands beyond the walls on foot or on horseback, or even whatever land roving vehicles these men had brought with them, but to fly and explore? Unacceptable, too dangerous to allow, one of the few constants with the other kings, though one he never quite understood.

"E-excuse me, but their flying machines are vital to destroying the titan threat, if-"

"Silence, child, we have heard enough from you…"

The young girl, one Ilse Langnar, had been very patiently standing around, talking when permitted, but she was visibly frustrated with the royal advisors. If what the information he had received was accurate, she was presumed dead after her unit was attacked during one of the previous expeditions. From what he understood, she had survived, found that strange… doorway, and brought the Americans "to help".

_If it ever comes to it, we can use that against her…_

He whispered to Kenny, who rolled his eyes and made another gesture with his hands.

"_You_, please tell us why you need your… flying machines." The man who noticed asked.

General Connor blinked, uncertain as to how exactly he could explain this to someone who apparently didn't see the use of an air force in an age when they could easily benefit from it.

_Unless they don't want their people to develop…_

"Well, sir, in our world, wars amongst humans are partly won by controlling the skies. You can attack your enemy without them being able to shoot back, doing maximum damage. Titans don't have any air power, and with coordinated efforts, air power alone could easily wipe them out both within the walls and outside of them."

"Yes, but is it necessary?"

_What the hell is up with these guys?!_

"Well, our tanks have proven very effective at annihilating them, but we still need the air power to locate titans before they locate us. It would save lives."

The men glanced at each other, some seemingly looking past one another, before they all nodded.

"Well, we suppose you can you use air power to destroy the titans within Wall Maria, however exploration beyond the walls must be limited to ground travel. It is just the law of the land here, and we believe it is less risky."

Connor nodded simply, not wanting to argue right there and then.

Ilse wanted to protest, but kept silent.

Erwin was used to the nature of the nobles, so he remained silent.

"What exactly do you call these machines, anyway?" the older man asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

Before anyone could answer, Ilse stated "Helicopters, sir."

"…ah, I see. These heli-copters are to only be used in destroying the titans, but not in exploring or assisting the Survey Corps when they go beyond the walls. Is the matter settled?"

The small group of outsiders nodded.

The man grinned, satisfied with himself, completely unaware of the reason why the young scout had been the one who had answered, not the general. Like most people in that room that weren't the Survey Corps or had come from another world, he didn't know that there existed more than one type of flying machine.

General Connor was not about to let the man dwell on it too much, and neither was the representative.

"If I may, are there any other conditions you would like us to meet in order to continue operating in this land?"

The men looked at one another again before one asked "What exactly would you like to do here?"

The US representative took a breath and began her explanation.

"Well, sirs, like we said, we would like to share some of our technology with your people. We have improved medicine, healthier ways of preparing food, plus electricity and weapons are just some of the things we can offer." She said, showing the men a simple flashlight, flicking it on.

The fat man that had spoken plenty stared at the light on it.

"This is… impressive." He said, studying the odd invention from his seat.

"That's just the tip of what we can offer you, sir. Better communication is something we can give you almost immediately if you allow it. You could contact someone in wall Maria form this very room and have a conversation with them with ease without having to travel there."

"You can just do that?"

"Sir, where we're from, you can talk to someone across the world without travelling there." The representative said, smiling.

"And what do you want in return? Specifically." the older man asked, calm now but an edge remained on his voice.

_Oh boy, here we go…_

"Well, for starters, the land we are already on… we need a base of operations and we could appreciate it if we could buy it from you."

The men glanced at each other, suspicious of the Americans, but seeing no reason to deny them… so far.

"Acceptable, but surely that isn't all you want."

"We need another Forward Operating Base in order to launch attacks on the titans beyond Wall Maria…" the representative paused, allowing for anyone who objected to the idea to speak.

None did.

"So, our generals believe that control of the Shiganshina district could prove beneficial to us all. A good portion of it is destroyed already, so we could work on fixing it while your people work on other parts of the wall that weren't as damaged by the titan invasion. That way we can both preserve the residential areas while establishing a base for ourselves, if that's alright with you." she finished, leaving out the fact that more bases would inevitably be needed if they wanted to expand.

The men looked at each other again.

It most certainly wasn't an unfair idea, they helped reclaim it after all, and they couldn't imagine how much damage there was to clean, and it was better to keep both of these bases as far away from the capital as possible. They weren't even asking for a district that hadn't been damaged, they were asking for the one that suffered the _most_ damage once Wall Maria fell. All the cleaner and more attractive districts that were abandoned could be sold off to any rich person they could benefit from… many possibilities…

There was no fathomable reason to say no.

_Let them keep it._

However, at the same time, a launching off point for further exploration could be… _very_ problematic in the long term. It gave them everything they needed to launch both offensives into the land of the titans sure, but also scouting operations. The scouts, limited by their supplies and speed, would soon be able to travel further and faster… and if the Americans lent them their destructive weapons, casualties would never mount as high as they usually did, and public opinion would be easily swayed in the favor of the scouts and against them.

Against the will of the founder, the will of a god!

_Unacceptable..._

But it would take them a while to get to that point… hopefully long enough for them to think of something… they could work with.

"Well, as long as you focus on destroying the titans first, we see no reason to object. Not many survivors from Shiganshina either, so you may even have the entire district for your own use."

Erwin almost gawked at the statement.

Had this… _truly _happened? The Survey Corps had its forts and bases for operating and managing supplies, but from what the Americans were saying, most if not the entire Shiganshina district would now serve as a launching point for future operations! The commander felt a knot in his throat, something he easily pushed away for dealing with later.

"Is that all?" the old man asked, interrupting Erwin's train of thought.

"One more thing, we would also like to begin training some soldiers with our own weapons, that way you can begin to better equip your army in order to fight against the titans yourselves." The US representative said.

"We allow it, contact the commander of the garrisons for recommendations of… let's just stick to one regiment for now. Is that all?"

"Actually sir, we were wondering where the other military commanders were. We kind of expected them to be here." General Connor said.

"No, they have yet to arrive, which works for us, since we can interview you without their endless questions. Ah yes, once they arrive, they may want to see a demonstration of your weapons. There is a field not too far from the capital that should work for you all to show off your weapons or whatever you soldiers do. Anything else?" it was the old man who answered, looking far more relaxed than before, friendly even.

"I… believe that is all?" General Connor mumbled, turning to the representative who nodded before speaking up.

"We look forward to working with you all. Hopefully this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship! I can bring some formal papers for you to examine and to make our alliance official!" The US representative said cheerfully, offering to shake the hand of the king.

The king had fallen asleep.

"I do apologize; the years have been very hard on him. You are free to go. And thank you for your time." The fat man said, nodding for the MPs to open the heavy doors.

…

"Never seen someone so ungrateful in my entire life…" Ilse mumbled, still shocked at the attitude of the nobles.

"You should see my meetings with certain other nations." the US representative mumbled.

"The nobility here is very protective of their way of life. I am frankly amazed they conceded as much as they did." Erwin said.

Ilse looked at her commander, realizing how difficult it had to be to work with such obstructive leaders.

"Still, something was way off about them, though. The king didn't even say anything."

"He rarely does." Erwin replied calmly.

"Well, to be fair, I suppose they _are_ just trying to preserve their way of life. I don't know, I've seen far more closed off individuals. At least we _got_ something out of this." The US representative replied.

"And I should add that it was much, _much _more than anything I could have ever strong-armed from them." Erwin replied courtly.

"Well, we aren't fully restricted from using aircraft, and Isle's quick thinking also _technically_ gave us access to use drones in order to assist in your scouting operations. As long as they don't find out..."

"Once we fully clear wall Maria of course." Erwin replied, no longer able to hide the smile on his face.

Ilse thought about it, and finally said "Well, I guess that, in a way, we all benefited from this deal."

_Hopefully everyone's happy with it._

…

Everyone was _not _happy with the deal, especially King Reiss. Once again, the middle aged man was pacing from one end of the room to the other as his advisors remained silent.

"We cannot allow them to bring _any_ weapons into the capital, period! Some rich prick like you might get the bright idea to sell those things on the black market, and the next thing we know my head has been turned into a fine powder by some moron from the underground!" he yelled.

Kenny silently laughed at that.

"Why the hell did you allow them to show them off within the capital?!" he yelled again.

His advisors remained silent, and he knew why. It was a military matter, and Pixis and Zackly weren't exactly going to travel for a full day on end in order to meet some men only to have to travel all the way back to Wall Sina to test some new weapons when a perfectly good military field was well within range. Might as well get the demonstrations over with quick and then ask them to head back to Wall Maria. Rod knew this, but it still infuriated him how absolutely helpless he was to stop anything.

"Look… obviously we can't stop them from changing our society to some extent…" he sighed, regaining control over his emotions as he sat down on a wooden chair.

"No, not really…" Kenny murmured; a smug grin on his face.

"What we can do is limit it. Prohibit them from bringing their weapons _in_ here; keep them as far away from the population as we can… how many people would be resettling into Wall Maria once they clear it?"

Kenny read him a rough estimate, which put the resettling population in the low hundreds to few thousands.

Exact records had always been sketchy…

"Right… as for ultimately dealing with the problem of the Americans, we are going to need The Founder back. Only The Founder can decide how we move from here." Rodd said solemnly.

Kenny rolled his eyes.

Deltoffe caught this action and immediately stood up.

"I don't believe this Ackerman is very helpful to our cause, your majesty." He protested.

"Ah? Can you find someone better?" Kenny replied, somewhat, though not entirely, confused by the man's sudden hostility.

"Maybe we should! I bet you would gladly start to work with these people against the king!"

"And how would that help them? From what I heard, they could conquer us in a few days with little problem." The member of the interior police sighed back, hiding his growing irritation with the old man.

"You doubt the power of The Founder?!"

"The one you all lost?"

Deltoffe had had enough. Nothing had been going their way since the titans broke through Wall Maria, and he did _not _need a lowly Ackerman talking back to him!

Deltoffe went to strike the man when Kenny simply grabbed the old man's arm and twisted it, dropping the man to the floor and jabbing the tip of a knife on the very edge of his mouth.

"Look here, maybe I _am_ just some lowly servant, but I think I know enough to tell you that power can be taken away with incredible ease, Deltoffe. Humanity was the dominant species until the titans ripped that from us, the founder was a god to you all, until some man from the outer wall stole it from you all. I may be subordinate to you, but if I wanted to jab this knife down your throat, you couldn't even delay it. I suggest you all think very carefully about what you do next."

Rod watched in silence; Kenny was a valuable tool to keeping order within the walls, but he had always been a… sort of loose cannon now that his brother was gone, his soul stolen along with the founding titan, as well as the soul of his daughter.

They had searched everywhere they could but there was no sign of the doctor that had robbed them of the true founder and its memories of why humanity was within the walls.

Only the founder could lead in this dark time, and though they had a replacement ready, they still needed the founder in order to continue the line.

That said, Kenny's outburst made a point that he needed to consider.

"Deltoffe, please refrain from biting the hand that guards you. And Kenny, I think we need more members trained in using the anti-personnel gear."

The man dropped the still angry Deltoffe and glanced at the king, asking "You want me to get more recruits?"

"No, I want you to assign three good leaders to train new recruits while I assign commanders to them all. I want four more regiments ready. I want the Interior Police ready to confront these Americans, these forces from beyond the walls, should the need arise."

Kenny winced at that, saying "Hold on, they haven't done anything to-"

"_It_ is a precaution, and a way of keeping order. Anyone tries smuggling illegal technology in here, I want their bodies to never even be _found_. Not a trace left. And sooner or later we _will _find The Founder, and when we do, _she_ will ultimately decide what the fate of the Americans will be. Maybe she will allow them to stay, but if she says we should get rid of them…"

All Kenny could do was nod.

But deep within the confines of his tired mind, a possibility he had been pondering ever since the previous king had passed his soul reared its complicated little head.

He would have to change things, of course, but…

Soon after, the meeting concluded and Rod began to make his way back to his secret home away from the capital, maintaining the façade of being a regular old somewhat rich noble barely related to the royal bloodline.

Kenny left him with two of the men most loyal to the king, Rod reminding him of his task, "Make sure they are loyal to the true king, Kenny, I will be interviewing them myself."

Kenny nodded as the carriage left through the less seen rear of the government building.

That had been a warning…

_None of __**my **__loyal men, __**his **__loyal men…_

On its own, that left plenty of options, but would certainly complicate things for him.

He glanced at the sun, still hanging high up in the sky.

Maybe it was finally time he should pay a long overdue visit to his beloved nephew.

…

"What about the one in the pink dress?" Dave asked.

"Hmm… five, bordering on six." Jake replied, seemingly bored.

"Really? I call that a solid seven."

"I call that an eight back home." Matt mumbled.

"That's just her figure; you guys gotta look at a woman's face before her body."

"Ohh…" both of the younger Americans replied thoughtfully, conceding the woman was too far way to see the details on her face properly.

"Are you boys calculating otherworldly math equations or something?" a certain girl with goggles asked, eyebrow raised as the Humvee crew turned to give her a sideways glance, not really caring about her eccentric nature and bizarre ability to pop up wherever and whenever _something_ she was unfamiliar with was happening.

"What?" Hanji asked.

"Miss, no offense, but do we _really_ look like we're the smartest in the bunch? Or do we really just look like we're pondering mathematics to ya'll?"

Hanji scoffed at Matt's question, saying "Well, if I knew I wouldn't be asking, now would I? Seriously, why the number's game?"

"I take it the booklets don't talk about that, huh?" Dave mumbled.

"Pretty sure they're basing the number on how pretty a girl looks." A calm Eld said before Hanji could ask again, walking past her with a small pile of hay under his arm.

"Yeah, what he said." Jake said, grinning.

Unimpressed, Hanji angled her head so that sunlight reflected from her goggles, perfectly blocking her eyes from the view of the Americans.

"Is that really all you men do in your off time?"

"No, but there really isn't much more to do right now, especially when the benefit of having a Humvee is that you don't really have to prep it too much for a simple demonstration... Unlike our poor mechanics over there." Matt said, tilting his head slightly towards the Marines and other Army personnel who were still working on ensuring their heavier vehicles worked perfectly.

"You men are so bizarre. If I was in another world I would be looking every which way, exploring, trying to see everything! Aren't you at least curious about this city?"

The three Americans looked around.

"It's cleaner than New York and Jersey, I guess… which is _weird_ since everyone travels via horse drawn carriage… actually, do you guys have designated cleanup crews or-?"

"Commander Erwin's back!" Moblit called, as the Commander returned alongside Ilse and the American team sent to talk to the reigning monarch and his heads of government.

"Whelp- I take it officer duty calls, right, miss-?" Jake shut up as Hanji had run off, almost leaving a cloud of dust behind her.

"Rude…" he mumbled and went back to eyeing some of the female scouts nearby.

"I think everyone can tell what you guys are doing… aren't you ashamed?" Ilse mumbled as she approached the Humvee.

The young soldiers and several nosy Marines laughed loudly.

"I think shame would be warranted if most of the girls in your regiment weren't doing the same damn thing." Matt said, deadpanned.

"What are-?" Ilse began only to note that a clique of scouts composed entirely of female recruits was chatting near the stables, stealing glances at the working Marines while feeding their horses, as if they were school girls from the other world or something.

"Huh…" the girl admitted, unsure what to do with the knowledge.

_Some blackmail might prove beneficial, but other than that…_

"Anyway, how was it?" Jake interrupted her thoughts, seemingly curious.

Before the scout could answer an ear-piercing "_**WHAT **_"came from the small group of officers surrounding Erwin.

"…I, uh… hope that's good news." Jake mumbled.

"Well, the Commander will give more details soon, but other than the advisory being oddly ungrateful and the king being almost eerily silent-"

"What, like… was he alive?" Dave asked.

"W-? Yeah, he was _alive_. He just didn't say anything, like he's too old for the job or something. Most of the discussion was had with the advisory."

"That has happened a lot back on earth, Monarchs too old to rule handing over executive power to a parliament or something… anyway, what did they say?"

…

Levi sipped the small amount of water before placing some coins on the counter as payment.

The interior had some _very_ fresh and clean water, and he didn't mind taking advantage of it as he made an order for some supplies to give the corps and its horses; simple business really.

He did, however, mind the loud partying that had broken out in the nearby bar, and despite the sun still being at its highest point of the day, several men had already gotten drunk and passed out.

He was in no mood for dealing with any of this and began to head back to the area near the main government building where the corps was still loitering about, waiting for the other military officers to show up.

The news was not just good, it was excellent.

Once the titans within Wall Maria were dealt with, scouting operations could begin anew, and with assistance from the technologically superior soldiers from another world… casualties would not only drastically drop, but much larger distances could be travelled with ease. He didn't even care that much about the odd restrictions on flying machines.

It was as if all of their efforts and the efforts of those who had died were finally being rewarded.

Despite his mind focusing on the good news, he did not relax his senses enough not to detect that he was being followed.

He turned ever so subtly and immediately stopped walking.

The man trailing him noticed and smiled.

"Yo, Levi! Still a squirt, huh?" an annoyingly cheerful voice came from the scratchy throat of the man who had raised him so long ago.

The Survey Corps captain didn't speak.

He _thought_ one of the MPs that had cleared them to enter the capital looked familiar, but now…

"_Nope! _Guess not…" the man said, grinning as he walked over.

"Kenny, I thought the Military Police had slit your throat long ago… or at the very least tossed you in a hole and thrown away the key." The captain said; an unreadable tone in his voice that most would classify as unimpressed but to the trained ear, it could easily be resentment.

"Nah, you can't get rid of me that easily, squirt!"

"You seem to have gotten rid of yourself all on your own last we met…"

_Definitely resentment…_

"Geez. There you go with the silent anger, no _hi_ or _where've you been_, huh?"

"You working with the people you used to murder?" Levi asked, noticing the slightly more disciplined air coming from the man, confirming his suspicions.

"Sort of, you enjoy seeing how huge the world is?"

Levi didn't say anything.

"Look, kiddo I won't take up much of your busy time, but be sure you will be seeing me around. And before you ask, no, it isn't a threat."

Levi cocked his head slightly, wordlessly asking what the man meant.

"Your new friends spooked people in high places, squirt… you may not have to worry about me, but be sure to keep an eye out. Watch your back at all times."

Levi frowned, asking "Assuming you're being truthful here, what exactly do you get out of this?"

"Hah?"

"Don't screw around, Kenny, you want something from me or the people I know. What is it?"

The old man grinned.

"Nothing, nothing at all. You don't even have to tell them about how tense things are getting up there. But, when we see each other again, I hope to actually have information worth bargaining something for. See you around, Levi! Count on it."

The stoic man watched him leave.

Questions popped up in his mind, and he wondered what suddenly brought someone he hadn't seen in years to come out of hiding in order to talk to him, seemingly _warn_ him about something.

Figuring he would learn more at a later date, the Captain shoved a hand in his pocket and continued walking back, debating whether Erwin should be made aware of this or not.

…

Anka Rheinberger wasn't sure what steps she should take to wake up her commander, which was actually a somewhat new experience for her. Oh, she had seen him this drunk a few times before, but for once the old man was attempting (and failing) to stay conscious.

It had been fifteen minutes since he had last opened his eyes in the carriage, and she gave a worried glance at her partner who simply returned it.

"Maybe we should dunk him in the river, _legs_ first, wake him up that way?" he asked.

She sighed, knowing that they had no time to stop by any nearby rivers.

A messenger from the scouts had caught up to them and informed them that the so called "men from somewhere else" had finished their talks with the king and were ordered to leave the capital in order to demonstrate the titan killing weapons to the military commanders.

New weapons and titan killing methods were all well and good, but the scout had been adamant that Commander Pyxis not only be present, but that it was vital that he arrived early as these… Americans… had some things to discuss with him and the head of the military, premiere Zachary.

None of that could effectively be accomplished with the commander sleeping calmly in the carriage.

Anka started formulating a plan in her mind of carrying the old man into the meeting when the carriage promptly stopped near some tents in an almost empty field.

"Alright… Gustav, maybe if we carry him out the-"

As if jolted awake by electricity, the old man got up and calmly walked out of the carriage and in a straight line towards the largest tent, startling his subordinates.

The two of them sighed and chased after their enigma of a commander. Just _how_ he was able to down so much alcohol and still function was a mystery as great as the origin of the titans and one they still weren't accustomed to.

The tent was fairly empty aside from the table with a few men standing around it.

One she recognized as the both popular and unpopular Erwin Smith, commander of the Survey Corps.

Premiere Zachary was standing next to him, a well-built man with white hair and glasses, staring at the table as the other men pointed at different highlighted pictures on a large paper.

The other men were in a getup she hadn't seen before, the vest with strange devices and tools she didn't recognize, the green uniform, and while the leader had it removed, the men had strange helmets that blended with their uniforms well, two armed with dark colored rifles that were compltely different to what she was used to.

She assumed that these were the men from another world.

"…done by this time next month, I hope… uh…" the strange man stopped talking and began staring in their direction.

Anka winced and looked at her commander who was eyeing the other men suspiciously.

"Hmm… I still worried the stories were complete fabrications, but you are as real as I! A pleasure to meet you, uh…"

The man stood straight, saying "Connor, General Connor; United States Marine Corps."

"Dot Pyxis… Fascinating… you and your boys really are from another… place."

The man nodded.

Anka expected to be more surprised at her commander not slurring his words but at this point she was more interested in understanding those… maps?

They seemed to be… drawings… incredibly detailed drawings of parts of Wall Maria she recognized somewhat, the smaller drawings were placed above a map of the walls, some areas highlighted.

"Very detailed drawings you have there…" her commander mumbled as he looked at one of the incredibly detailed pictures.

She recognized the curiosity in his voice, though.

"They are actually photographs, Commander. They utilize light reflecting off the surface of objects to capture an image." Erwin said, recalling the explanation a fascinated Hanji had given him while greeting the man.

It was Zachary who was quiet.

"Regardless, I was explaining how we may be able to eliminate the threat of titans within your outer wall."

"Ah, yes, these… flying machines of yours… I must say, I'm very interested in seeing how those work."

Again, Zachary seemed rather bored.

"We also wanted to discuss a new training curriculum for one regiment of your soldiers. At least to show them how to handle new weapons." the general said.

"Ah, yes… a trainee regiment, preferably one not too fresh but not too experienced, yes?"

"Whichever you think is best, commander."

"Well, there are quite a few regiments still in training to my knowledge, Anka, be a dear and bring me that list."

Anka wasn't sure what to make of the grandfatherly voice her commander used, but did as told.

Pixis eyes the map, asking "You're planning on retaking Wall Maria from the titans. Is this your plan?"

The American nodded, saying "Yes, commander. We recently brought several long range recon drones-aircraft- and we have been trying to locate the areas where titans have a larger presence. So far, we have found a few areas near the wall with somewhat high concentrations, but we also know plenty of titans have just sort of stuck around random areas within Wall Maria, so we need help in order to locate them- guides, maps, really any information available."

Pyxis nodded.

"The Survey Corps is already providing assistance in that field, what will ultimately be needed, however, is a new generation of soldiers for humanity." Erwin stated.

Pyxis glanced at the fellow officer while maintaining a pleasant expression.

Deep down, he thought _getting cozy with the new faces rather quickly there, Erwin… suspiciously so._

"Pyxis, do you think you can provide us with a regiment of trainees that haven't graduated yet but have most of the basics down?" Zachary asked before Pixis could continue wondering about the Survey Corps officer.

"I believe you mentioned the Shiganshina district will become a sort of launching off point for incursions into Titan territory once they are cleared from Wall Maria, yes?"

The men nodded.

"I recently met a trainee regiment that has a few survivors of the attack on Shiganshina four years ago. Mostly still kids, eager, hardworking, and they have one hell of a cook…" the old man grinned, smiling at the memory.

"Alright? Well, let us know then, I think we could send a messenger ahead of time. Give them a heads up while we start working some other details out." The general mumbled.

"Sure, sure… now… about your titan killing weapons…"

…

_You must return! If you want to save Armin and Mikasa you must-_

He opened his eyes, realizing he was still in bed despite the fact that the sun was already rising over the mountains.

Eren forgot the nightmare immediately and sprang up, panicking at the mere thought that he had somehow stayed asleep in spite of the officer's call to wake up for the day's training, the wrath of commandant Shadis being a far more pressing concern than some enigmatic words from his missing father.

Then he realized that he was the only one awake.

_What the-?_

He looked around the barracks through his cabin's window, utterly confused a t the emptiness of the training fields beyond. A light mist rolled over the field, the ground still humid with the morning doe, but he was used to seeing that since he was usually awake by that point, already training.

But no one was up, as evidenced by the light breathing of the sleeping cadets.

He considered waking up some of them, they had gotten plent of free time the previous day, so to have it occur twice in a row was… impossible.

_Also, detrimental to our training…_

He stepped outside, only to realize the area was entirely devoid of humans. Like they had all vanished somewhere.

It was like the world around him had died…

A few birds sang in the trees by a hill not too far away, reminding him that he had, in fact, overslept. Had the commandant simply been in a good mood that day and let them sleep in?

He didn't feel like sleeping in.

He made his way to the mess hall, hoping to find more cadets, but to his mild disappointment, it was empty.

No, not empty, a hefty breakfast of porridge had been placed for anyone to help themselves to. Which meant the cooks had been there… but weren't here anymore.

The door then opened behind him.

He hoped it would be an officer who could explain to him why the trainee camp appeared deserted, but once again he was disappointed.

"Eren. Did you sleep well?" Mikasa, in her usual stoic self, greeted as she moved past him.

_What are you, my mother?_

He pushed the painful memory aside and said "Yeah, I slept fine, but where the hell are the officers? I thought we would get some seriously grueling training today after getting the day off yesterday… or at least _something_."

_Has anyone actually seen the officers since we got back?_

The dark haired girl stopped, seemingly considering things.

"Is everyone else still in your dorm?" she asked.

"Yeah, that I could tell, at least. The officers are the only ones gone. Kind of creepy actually…"

"They could be in a meeting. Most of our training is done by now, so maybe they're discussing other matters."

Eren wanted to argue that point further, but the door almost slammed open and a frustrated entity stormed in.

She did not acknowledge the other two humans in the mess hall and moved angrily towards the large pot filled with warm porridge.

She angrily grabbed a plate, dumped a single spoonful onto it, sat down right there on the floor and started eating.

"Whats wrong, Sasha?" Mikasa asked calmly.

Very few souls in the 104th trainee regiment dared interrupt the usually cheerful girl when she ate, but that number dropped significantly if she was irritated. The signs were all there, she was huffing, puffing, her cheeks were red, but not from running, and the way she angrily stuffed her mouth with spoons of porridge was evidence none could dismiss.

For Mikasa, the girl's irritation was a non-issue.

Though still irritated, the brown haired girl turned to look at the only two people with her and mumbled something indecipherable, swallowed, and said "So you know how the officers keep a pound of meat for special occasions?"

Eren kept his frown from forming.

_She didn't…_

"I heard it was in a neat little box in the commandant's quarters…"

_She wasn't that crazy…_

"And… yeah, I got a little curious…"

_She wouldn't!_

"So I went to check-"

Sasha pouted as both Eren and Mikasa sighed in exasperation.

"What?! You asked, I'm just telling you what happened." the girl barked.

"Were the officers there?" Mikasa asked, wanting to get to the point.

Sasha nodded, saying "Yeah, they were discussing a message sent from the capital. Some kid from the Survey Corps showed and the commanders were all acting distracted and worried, so I tried to sneak some of that beef out early, but commandant Shadis saw me and sent me here."

A devilish grin appeared on the girl's face.

"He also told me to slip this into every sleeping dorm! Guess it's our lucky day!" she said waving a note.

Mikasa nodded, but Eren suddenly shouted "Wait! The survey corps sent a messenger _here_? Did you hear why?"

"Huh? No, but if it's really important I bet they'll tell us." The girl sighed, going back to eating after handing the note to Mikasa.

The stoic girl read it out loud, saying "All cadets are to train in the field they excel the least in for three hours, the rest of the day is to be spent within the camp… more orders to follow before the end of the day."

"See? Told ya!"

"That's… weird… were the guards on edge or did they give any hints as to-?"

"Nope! Relax, and just wait until the commandant addresses us later."

Eren could not relax.

It all reeked of something being _wrong, _but he had no way of knowing what. Was the wall breached? Had there been some form of major death? Had the gang of thieves they had fought less than a few nights previously secretly larger than what the garrison troops suggested and they were all secretly in danger? Had the latest scout operation uncovered something new about the titans?

He was starting to get a headache.

He had to get his mind off the drama and figured that jogging would help.

He turned to leave the mess hall when his ever worried adopted sibling grabbed his arm, saying "Eren, you should eat first."

"I'm _fine_, I just have to get my mind-"

"We graduate in a few months, you need to be in peak health then, and right now…"

The teenager narrowed his eyes, and without saying a word, admitted defeat by moving to the table and grabbing a plate of porridge.

Mikasa hid her smile, knowing that if she wanted him to take better care of himself all she had to do was give slightly more logical reasons for it.

_They were all still just children…_

…

"Uh- Eren… maybe you shouldn't force yourself too hard-"

"Shut. Up. I. Can. _Do_. This!" Eren spat back at the somewhat shorter boy with golden hair as he desperately attempted to pull himself up on a bar.

He dropped down, unable to do so anymore.

"Damn it! How do those guys do it?!"

"Eren, Mikasa and Reiner are… very different from us..."

"So what?! If they can do it, so should _I_! I just have to push a little further… I was close, right?"

_Mikasa once manages a total of a thousand pull ups during a physical training day, Reiner wasn't too far off with about seven hundred… those numbers aren't exact, but…_

"Well, since you started earlier this morning, this is… I think three hundred, so…"

Eren stared at Armin for two seconds before lying down on the floor entirely, a frustrated sigh escaping his tired lungs.

"How do they…? I don't get it, damn it. Those two are inhuman."

"Well, Eren, it was a day where they solely focused on that one exercise. You just tried beating Annie's record earlier, right?"

The grumpy teenager sighed, saying "That's not the point. If we can't keep up with the best, then how are we supposed to beat the titans back…"

The boy, despite not wanting to admit it, knew how vital people like Mikasa and Reiner were in the war against the giants. But they needed more people like them; they needed to make Mikasas and Reiners the norm, not the exception!

He looked around the camp, now lit up by the late morning sun; most of the cadets were done with their assigned training and were now simply chatting or slacking off. Very few seemed to be actually taking the extra training hours seriously.

He wasn't sure whether it should irritate him or not that he was right, seeing that Mikasa was one of the few still training, albeit she was helping another girl better her hand to hand combat, and Reiner seemed to be doing the same with a tall boy with dark hair.

"Well, at least Mina and Bertholdt are getting some extra training out of this…" Eren noted just as Reiner, the young man built like a wall, easily toppled his apprentice, Bertholdt, much to the entertainment of another young man with ash brown hair. Yeager was _extremely_ tempted to call out the laughing cadet, but simply stood up and said "Come on, Armin, you give it a shot. If we're both mediocre then lets at least try to improve together a bit."

"Uh… right." Armin wasn't sure if Eren meant that as encouragement or belittlement, but he _did _need to improve his physical condition if he wanted to catch up to his childhood friends.

He began doing his set of pull-ups easily enough… but was somewhat distracted upon hearing a strange sound off in the distance.

He didn't think much of it until Eren pointed it out.

"What _is_ that?" Eren mumbled quietly.

Armin stopped pulling himself up on the bar and listened. It… sounded like a low humming- it… was hard to pin down. He certainly had no reference for it.

The noise got louder.

Eren felt a cold current of air hit his neck, and when he turned he saw Mikasa was suddenly standing right next to him.

How she managed to cross a field so quickly was beyond him, but it irritated him more than anything.

Still, he focused more on the unknown sound that continued to grow louder. Other cadets approached their location not too far from the cabins, where the noise could be heard without much trouble.

"What _is_ that?" someone, a girl, asked out loud.

"It… kind of sounds like some of the factories I worked at… but… not at all either."

A short young man with bald hair glanced at the dark haired teenager and said "So it sounds like nothing you've ever heard before then?"

The teen nodded.

"Well, why didn't you just say you hadn't heard anything like it before, Samuel?" Connie mumbled just as an excited Armin exclaimed.

"Look! Over by the hills!" the boy said, pointing.

"What- what the hell?"

Eren wasn't sure who said that but he was surprised by the odd vehicle that appeared from behind a hill, following the road to the trainee camp.

No horses pulled it.

The wheels seemed to be made of some dark material that they didn't exactly recognize.

It was painted green, like a leaf, except for what had to be its doors where bizarre markings the young cadets could only assume were letters were painted on.

It passed a fair distance away from them before stopping very close to the building the commanding officers were meeting in.

A tall man hopped out of one side while several others exited the other side; all of them wearing what appeared to be a military uniform that none of the cadets had ever seen before.

One of them turned to look at the cadets and they briefly saw shock cross his face.

He slowly waved at them, and almost as one, the cadets returned the gesture, albeit awkwardly.

He nodded, the worried look on his face never disappearing as he entered the building, vanishing from sight once the door closed behind him.

"Uh… who was that?" someone else asked, Eren thought it was Bertholdt, but he was too transfixed by the horseless carriage they had all just seen.

…

"Colonel, they are literally just a group of kids!"

"Yup."

The Army Colonel stopped as several of the officers from the trainee squad eyed his small detachment.

"Well, come in then." A bald man with extremely dark bags under his eyes breathed.

The colonel walked forward and sat down as his subordinate mumbled "Rangers always lead the way, I guess… even if it means infanticide…"

Luckily his colonel didn't hear him.

"Comandant Kieth Shadis, correct?"

The bald man nodded, not asking for the colonel's name.

_Good, we're getting somewhere._

"Colonel…" the man said, studying the Americans.

"Well… let's skip the formalities- you are in charge of child soldiers." The colonel sighed.

"They're old enough to fight." One of the officers replied, somewhat indignant.

_Who the hell were these men to judge them?!_

"I know… I… apologize, we… we don't exactly approve of tossing children into a meat grounder back home. We haven't had a need for it in… centuries."

Although cases of children sneaking their way into the military existed all the way up to World War Two, the last time the Americans had allowed anyone below the age of 17 to join and fight in the armed forces had been during the Civil War… God knew how that turned out…

Oh, many argued that age 17 was still too young, especially the United Nations, but…

"The average age of my recruits is between fourteen and sixteen years old, colonel. I wish we were in your situation, but this is what we have to work with…"

The colonel nodded.

_The UN is __**really**__ not gonna like this…_

"Regardless, we are here to help where we can."

"I see… am I to inform them about the switching of commanders?"

The colonel winced before shaking his head.

"No, commandant, this is a _joint_ operation. We are estimating that with continuous strikes and help from the Survey Corps, we can clear a good chunk of Wall Maria in a month or two. In that time you need to ensure that these cadets are experts in their… three dimensional maneuver gear… then they will transfer to a base camp we will be establishing in the coming month to give them training on some… newer weapons. You'll still be helping us, I would hope."

Shadis blinked.

"I don't understand, you have weapons that outclass anything we could muster up. My training and I are, by all means, outdated… at least compared to what I have heard about you."

"Incorrect, our boys _need _our vehicles and air power to survive. If one of our regular infantry platoons got stuck in a street with two or three titans… well, they may do some damage, maybe hold them off until help can arrive, but that's it. They're screwed without our heavier weapons. Meanwhile, if one of your cadets is in a street out on his own and some titans show up, they can basically fly away and pull back with relative ease. Your three dimensional maneuver gear is the perfect weapon for what you have."

Shadis shook his head.

"I appreciate the kind words, but you men haven't lost a single man to titans so far assuming what the scout said was true…"

_Unlike myself…_

"Again, because of our technology and we are being extremely cautious. We were warned ahead of time of the titans, we planned ahead, even equipped our men with heavier weapons than what we usually carry."

The colonel smiled slightly before saying "Now, we have permission both from the king and commander Pyxis to begin a new training course for this batch of young cadets… we're not a hundred percent sure how far we can take this training, their age might be a problem if people back home find out and we aren't exactly sure on what weapons we can bring in and adapt to your needs."

Shadis glanced at his officers before asking "What are you getting at?"

The colonel's smile widened.

…

Armin was by no means the most social of the 104th.

Oh, he talked with everyone, they all sort of did, but his interests were not something the others could easily understand.

The 104th understood Eren, he wanted vengeance, he wanted to reclaim the lost lands, destroy the enemy… he inspired the others to fight.

The 104th understood Mikasa, she pushed herself to be the best and had proven to be the best in the regiment, most likely out of a need to protect her only remaining family… she inspired them the others to at least try and better themselves.

Armin had liked to read, to absorb information. His interests lay on the lands beyond the walls, but that was something no one could or even wanted to think about with so much land lost in the last four years, preferring to dream about reclaiming Wall Maria instead of what wonders could lay beyond. He simply wasn't someone who could be pushed to physical extremes like Mikasa or even Eren, many noting it was a miracle he had made it this far.

No one hated him or disliked him, they just weren't sure what to talk about with him, and he wasn't too sure what to talk about with the others, so he was mostly just in the background, talking when needed and little else.

At least, that had been the case less than ten minutes prior.

"You got a working theory yet?" Sasha whispered.

Armin shook his head, too wrapped up in analyzing the strange horseless carriage beyond the wooden fence to notice that he was in the middle of a herd of soldiers, all quietly waiting for him to figure out just what the mysterious vehicle was.

"Well, it's definitely a carriage…" Connie said.

"Obviously." a bored blonde girl mumbled back.

"Annie, come on, at least _pretend_ to be interested! This is something insane, I mean, horseless carriages, who ever heard of something like _that_?!"

"Can't be that crazy if it's right in front of us…"

Armin kept eyeing the back of the carriage, wondering what that pipe on the back was for. It was the one fundamental difference between this carriage and the others that he could see from the fence.

He gasped and said "It has to be a gas engine! Just like our gear!"

A collective "huh" came from the gathered soldiers.

"That pipe over there, near the wheels- um… think of it like… it's not too different from the exhaust our ODM gear lets out whenever we use it… maybe it works on the same principle…"

Understanding came over the regiment, and then more questions reared their ugly heads.

"Huh?! Why would the king waste time making a horseless carriage with the motors our gear use?!" Sasha cried out, not understanding why anyone would need a horseless carriage. Horses were loyal and could serve more than one purpose, so why take that away from them for something that wasted more resources?

"It makes little sense in all honesty… it looks to be made out of metal too, so why waste precious resources on something like that?" Armin asked the question to himself.

_Wouldn't it make more sense to continue mass producing ODM gear? And what was up with those strangely dressed men?_

"Maybe it's some kind of… titan killing super weapon… developed by the scouts!" Eren suggested, the slightest tinge of childish wonder lining the words. The potential of a super weapon to take the fight to the titans gripped him like nothing else.

"It would surprise me… I don't see any artillery or… really anything that looks remotely like a weapon." Armin mused.

Eren sighed at his theory being shot down so quickly.

"Maybe it isn't that complicated, maybe this is just some new invention one of the rich guys on the inner wall came up with…" Reiner suggested.

"Horseless carriages… inner wall… no mess to clean up… God, if it's true…" the quiet muttering came from a young man who was suddenly _very _interested in the prospect, a smile forming on his face.

"Oh great, mister Military Police gets to enjoy a new fancy invention while the rest of us-"

"_Cadets_! _**Fall in right this second**_!"An unusually fierce sounding Commandant Shadis interrupted the theorizing of the teenagers.

The young cadets formed up and stood at a rigid attention only to realize that commandant Shadis wasn't alone.

The man in green was standing next to him while the other men in green were working on something right behind the odd pair.

"Alright, maggots, I bring you pleasant news!"

He paused for dramatic effect before declaring "The breach within Wall Maria has been sealed!"

The cadets didn't react.

Eren was too stunned to ask anything.

Some just blinked, others just looked at one another, until Armin suddenly asked "W-what?! B-but _how_-?"

He shut up, realizing his mistake. The commandant would surely force the usually quiet cadet to run laps until the sun set…

"Glad you asked, Arlert! I'm sure you are all wondering who these strange men are."

No one uttered a word.

"This is Colonel Parker, with the United States Army. They… are not from around here."

A slow, cautious murmur rang through the ranks.

"Where are they from, you ask? Well, that answer is certainly complicated. You see, during the 34th expedition by the corps, one scout was separated from the formation. She stumbled upon a structure out in a field and was forced to run through it… this is not a normal structure as it leads to another… world."

Armin's eyes widened.

The idea of another world, a whole other world with _people_, had never entered his mind.

"Now, they don't understand it either, but this doorway- gate, if you will, connects our two worlds. The two things you all need to know right now is that their world never had titans and technologically they are far more advanced than us."

Before anyone could ask Shadis said "I know that doesn't answer many questions… _Arlert_… but trust me, they have plenty of information to give us, and you brats are going to be some of the first to receive that information."

Armin lowered his gaze, hiding his excitement.

"Another thing, you lucky pieces of titan fodder have just been selected to be part of a program that seeks to train us in utilizing the anti-titan weapons these men brought."

_Well, anti-tank and anti-material back home, but sure…_

"Well? Rejoice, maggots! You will be the first to take the fight to the titans. For the next few months we will continue to train with our ODM gear, then, in about a month's time you will transfer elsewhere to begin the new training program to build on what you know. And for those worried, these men were able to help seal the wall without losing a _single_ man."

No one cheered, but the mood lightened with some excitement surging at the prospect.

Eren forced himself not to cry out of joy.

Not only was the wall sealed, not only was a whole entire world open to them suddenly, not only did said world bring much more powerful anti-titan weapons, but he- _they _would be one of many regiments to begin training as a force to take out the titans beyond Wall Maria with better weapons and tactics than before!

He shut his eyes and thought about the possibility of titans being destroyed in his lifetime.

"Any questions?" the commandant asked after a second.

A single hand was raised from the formation.

"Is… is this mandatory?"

Eren forced himself not to break formation and glare at the young man with ash brown hair.

"Private Kirschtein, I don't see why you would want to leave this group, but…" Shadis turned to look at the American colonel.

"Uh… in all honesty, we don't want anyone to be forced to be part of this. We are aware that… some of you see the military at gaining a chance for a better life by being the best you can be, and I'm sure several of you have earned as much already. It isn't fair to take that away from you, I understand…"

Behind the colonel the Rangers collectively rolled their eyes.

"That said, I believe you will gain more through this program than anything the interior can give you. These are the front lines, the frontier, the great unknown- it will be a reclamation, a Reconquista but for the human race. We will not force you to be a part of it, and if you think you cannot handle this program you are free to leave…"

_There it is!_

"But if you stay, and work to reach the goal set by generations of fallen soldiers in these lands, believe me when I tell you the reward will be greater than what you can imagine!"

Jean Kirschtein wanted to ask what exactly those rewards _were_ (as well as just what in the world did the word Reconquista mean) but the glares from some of his fellow soldiers silenced that.

_They're looking at me as if I betrayed them, what the hell?!_

Shadis on the other hand nodded in approval, the colonel had essentially called those that quit cowards and most of the cadets were already interested, so any of them even thinking of leaving were now pressured to stay more than ever since failure to do so would result in a sort of betrayal of their fellow soldiers.

_Peer pressure is a hell of a thing…_

"That said, we wanted to give you a bit of a preview of what you will be working for, hopefully this will help calm any fears about facing a titan head on you may have."

Behind the man, two of the otherworldly soldiers stopped what they had been setting up, a table, and placed a metal box on top which they quickly opened.

Eren didn't recognize the material, but… it looked like a gun. He watched the colonel approach it and pick it up and showing it to the formation.

"Boys and girls, we call this an anti-material rifle, specifically, the ehm-one-oh-seven, or better known as the Barrett."

The cadets weren't really impressed by the strange looking rifle, but its sleek material did earn their curiosity.

"This is one of the types of weapons you will be training with a month from now, should things go as planned." Shadis announced.

"Who wants to shoot first?" he asked suddenly.

"A-actually- commandant, I recommend someone with used to heavy lifting or with peak physical strength-"

"Colonel, are you suggesting my cadets aren't capable of handling your weapon?"

Colonel Parker glanced at the youths… even if they were capable of using them, he didn't want any of them getting hurt.

"Hmm, actually… Private Ackerman! Front and Center!"

Colonel Parker half expected the burly blonde that was built like a wall to step up. He was tall, muscular, looked like a boxer or a wrestler.

He was shocked when a girl a little over five feet tall walked from the formation.

The straight, dark hair had been cut short despite the seemingly lax regulation of the military, her thin complexion, and her bored yet devoted expression as she stepped forward…

_This is a child who has had to grow up quickly._

"Before you ask, she is the most skilled cadet from this regiment as well as physically fit. She is a prime example of what we train our cadets to become. Tell her what to do, I am certain she will perform with excellence."

Eren wasn't sure how to feel about the statement. He wasn't jealous, everyone knew Mikasa was the top ranking member in the regiment, but to have the commandant declare it so openly… he wondered if the man had ever actually spoken like that about her or anyone.

It was a surprise to be sure.

The American colonel looked at her, suddenly wincing as if he had realized something.

"W-what is your name, private?"

"Mikasa Ackerman, sir."

The American stared at her before chuckling lightly.

"Huh… fun fact, we have a…" he stopped as he realized these kids had probably never heard of Basketball.

_Still, the fact that Asians existed in this world was… interesting._

He smiled awkwardly and said "…a famous company with that same name back home. Anyway, private… this isn't any regular gun you have here… see-"

Mikasa's thought turned to the previous sentence that the colonel had said.

_Are… there more people from the orient in that world?_

She couldn't think about it too much as she forced herself to pay attention.

It wasn't so different from firing some of the muskets they had trained with, but the man mentioned that loading the weapons was far easier and quicker.

Then he showed her what she would be firing.

"Kids, this is what we call a fifty bee-em-gee. It is a bullet that can disable vehicles like that… horseless carriage we drove in with. It needs to be aimed carefully if you encounter a titan, but evidence in the field shows that it can and will take them down in one hit."

_When aimed right…_

"Now, to demonstrate how… destructive this is… private, you see that wooden crate my men put up over there?"

Several meters down the field, a large box sat idly in the gravel.

Mikasa nodded.

"Good, now… we set up this table right here so that you can fire in a stable position…you can try to hit the target but don't feel bad if you miss."

The girl looked at the table, uncertain of how she was supposed to use it as a stabilizer. All the guns she had fired and trained to fire had been done standing up in a rigid fashion, the target never too far away. This target wasn't too far away either, but she wasn't sure how sitting down made firing the gun easier.

"I feel more comfortable standing, sir."

The colonel gave her a very worried look, saying "Kid, this has some serious recoil when shot. It'll feel like the gun is trying to punch you. I don't want you to get hurt before training starts officially, but if you want to shoot standing up, well…"

Even if she got a black eye, it would serve to teach the cadets a valuable lesson, he just didn't want a kid to get hurt. Staff sergeants had little problem stressing young recruits, pushing them beyond the breaking point, but he hadn't had to do anything like that to young men, let alone to a fourteen year old girl.

"Just hit the target. Everyone, cover your ears!"

One of the Rangers approached Mikasa and handed her some ear protection.

"Trust me, you'll need it." the young man told her before walking back to a safe distance.

Mikasa put on the protection and lifted the heavy rifle up. The ammo was already loaded and chambered according to the colonel; all she had to do was aim and pull the trigger… right?

The convenient scope on top made aiming easy, but she took the man's warning, shifting her legs so that if the gun pushed back, she would be ready.

Her grip tightened and she stiffened herself as much as she could before gently squeezing the trigger.

It sounded like a thunderbolt had landed where she stood.

The recoil had been insane, more than she had expected, but she held herself in place, the force of the rifle going off messing up her hair slightly.

"God damn! Nice shot!" the colonel exclaimed, surprised the girl was still standing.

She blinked and lowered the gun as she realizes that she had only grazed the target. A hit, sure, but nothing comparable to what a marksman like Sasha could pull with a bow and arrow.

"And that, kids, is just a preview of what you can expect!"

Some of the cadets clapped as if it was all a show, the colonel patted the shorter girl on the back before speaking.

"Of course, we aren't going to start this training formally until after you get a little more acquainted with us. So, we have brought with us some booklets that give all of you basic information about our world, our culture, and our weapons. I understand you have a classroom here for understanding titan anatomy, at least what is known?"

Kieth nodded, still amazed by the display of firepower.

"Well, we want you all to read up on what we have here. I know reading probably isn't the most exciting activity for all of you, especially when these books were translated in a rush, but we want to work together, so it's better that we start learning about each other. So… are you with us?" the colonel said, smiling awkwardly, feeling like he was giving a speech to a class of tenth graders.

In a way, he was.

…

"And, I think that should do it!" the US representative said, a cheerful smile on her face as she handed the paper that Ilse had so kindly written out for her to the man known as Aurille.

The young scout sitting next to the American politician forced herself to keep a neutral expression as the king's advisors read over the translated agreement with the Americans. It wasn't anything too official, or groundbreaking, but it was officially a starting point for future relations with the walled enclaves of humanity.

"…we hereby allow American supplies, primarily food and medicine, to be brought into Walls Sina and Rose, American doctors are allowed through, engineers…" Aurille read aloud.

_This is good stuff._

They would get most of the benefits in this first treaty. People from the other world would bring in many of their verifiably superior technology and know-how, helping solve many of the problems facing the populace. In exchange, the Americans would get the lands they had requested, as well as…

"Use of Attack Helicopters is only permitted in the act of locating and destroying titans, good, scientists from the other side of this doorway will be allowed through in order to study the titans and the identification of potentially valuable resources, acceptable…" he mumbled the last part, unsure if his king would be happy about it. it wasn't exactly terrible, not much had been learned from the titans in the century they had existed, so what more could the Americans possibly find? As for identifying precious resources- where was the harm in more riches?

"All seems to be in order, but we would like to add one more request."

The US representative had allowed her mind to wonder as the older men read through the details of this first "treaty". It was more of an official recognition by the United States that this was an actual nation, and now an ally.

_Another request?_

She was confused.

The representative had chosen to cut out most of the other benefits the US would have liked (tax cuts) in order to make these men feel like their way of life wasn't being threatened. She did hope to raise the issue later, but now she was seriously worried about this _new_ request.

"Yes, please don't bring weapons into the capital. Smuggling is a small but very serious problem. We fear for the safety of our king if a bomb is stolen."

"Of course, I completely understand."

Ilse turned to look at the woman in confusion but didn't say anything.

"Splendid, splendid…" Deltoffe said then, suddenly looking quite sheepish, he turned to Ilse and said "…I… apologize. I mistakenly believed that you had brought a curse upon our lands. I was mistaken in ordering your arrest… I also apologize for taking so long. You have yet to see your family, yes?"

The girl simply nodded, not saying anything.

"She has been helping us where she can, but now that we have a mutual understanding and the paperwork to prove it; I believe the very next stop should be a visit to her family."

"I went out of my way to find their current address in case it changed from when you were gone. I know it isn't enough, but…" the old man sighed, removing a small piece from his coat of paper before handing it to the girl.

"I… thank you, sir."

The old man gave her a grandfatherly smile which confused her more than anything.

_Didn't he hate our guts earlier?_

"Well, gentlemen, I appreciate your time. We should get going then, I need to report back home and… this young lady has an appointment that is long overdue." The representative said, signifying that the meeting was adjourned now that the agreement had been made official.

"Yes, I;m glad we managed to do some good here. Have a good evening, Representative, Miss Langnar…"

Once outside, Ilse asked "You didn't bring up as much as I thought you would. Weren't tax breaks and companies coming through part of-?"

"It's politics, Ilse. They are petrified of having their way of life changed drastically, so I focused on giving them a taste of what they can get. Make it look like we're here to serve them, which, in a way, we are, but keeping in mind that things like cars and planes seem to scare them. So, we'll take it a step at a time… hearts and mind, Ilse. Remember that. I just hope the president understands." she finished with a sigh.

Ilse saw the Marine MRAP and the Army Humvee with her escorts waiting.

Two familiar figures stood by them, a white and blue coat of arms.

"I hope you find your family well." The US representative said, moving away from her and to the Humvee that brought her along.

Ilse nodded and looked at the two scouts.

"Hey! We got the file on you!" an excited Hanji said, waving the papers in the air.

She took a breath, not sure if she was ready.

For a split second, she could have sworn she saw a shadow move into the MRAP.

_Probably just imagined it..._

She had far more pressing matters as she moved to the waiting Humvee crew.

…

"They put a man on the moon!" Armin declared suddenly, turning the book over to Eren and getting the attention of the other cadets.

The mess hall had been temporarily transformed into a library as the Americans brought the translated copies of several books that gave basic information the cadets needed to know if they wanted to advance into whatever type of soldier the Americans and the Garrison wanted to create.

That mattered little to Armin and Eren, both of whom had reignited their fascination with the outside world, especially now that a large portion of it was made accessible to them through books and a new method of capturing images called photographs.

Eren looked at the picture, a dusty landscape had a human figure wearing a bizarre white suit, with a strange helmet that covered the persons face entirely, standing next to the flag he now knew belonged to the Americans.

"Wait, how? And why?" an also fascinated Connie ran over and sat down, accidentally shoving Mikasa slightly.

The girl ignored it as she tried to read the same book Armin read.

"It says here that there was something called the Cold War… basically a war where both sides tried to outdo the other, and the Americans went to the moon in order to beat some people called the Soviets…"

Connie narrowed his eyes before asking "Are you just skipping ahead to whatever interests you?"

"That's what everyone else is doing, Connie." Mikasa replied, deadpanned.

"What? Am I the only one reading it in order?"

"Connie, all you're doing is walking around asking everyone else what they've read." Eren replied, eyes still on the image of what the book called an astronaut.

Connie didn't reply, switching back to his own textbook.

He discretely watched the Shiganshina trio continue reading in silence until Eren suddenly said "Armin, this says they have lands of ice and fire too!"

_They really were just reading what they wanted to read…_

"Maybe our two worlds aren't so different! But what does that mean?"

Eren shook his head, saying "I don't think so, I mean, look at the world map, they have a huge ocean- didn't your parents say it was more of a gigantic lake? I really doubt our ocean covers as much of the world as-"

"Their world has Orientals." Mikasa interrupted, almost whispering the words.

The two boys stopped and looked at her.

She looked worried.

"Mikasa… what page are you reading? I didn't see anything on the _World _section…" he looked at he world map.

There were places labeled Asia, but-

"It doesn't mention them there, directly- they're… in the section about wars."

The two boys glanced at each other and turned to the section simply titled "Armed Conflicts in the Modern Age".

Armin felt a chill run down his spine as he read the title "Global Conflicts".

There weren't a lot of pictures, but it did show what looked to be older, much smaller, versions of the vehicles the Americans had referred to as cars, there were odd looking metal… birds? No, people were piloting them so… aircraft.

He focused on the other photographs, these showing the different types of soldiers that fought in these conflicts.

One in particular looked eerily similar in physical appearance to Mikasa.

"The then called Empire of Japan, a nation near the Asian continent was a major power during the… Second World War…"

The table went silent as he read that, the chatter of the other cadets filling the void.

"So… people over there fought each other so much without the titans that they engulfed the whole world in war more than once? Well isn't _that_ something?"

Armin shook his head, frustrated.

"I wish it gave more information. It lists all these other countries, one side has The United Kingdom, France, the Americans, the Soviets, and the other side has-"

"Wait, I thought the soviets and the Americans hated each other"

"They found themselves on the same side during this war." Mikasa stated, something visibly bothering her as she continued to read for herself.

"But, Mikasa, I don't see them being labeled as Orientals any-"

"Next page, Armin."

The boy winced before nodding and passing the page.

_Treatment of Civilians… what?_

"After Japan attacked the American Navy in Pearl Harbor, many American citizens of Japanese descent were forced to move to internment camps for the duration of the war, mostly out of fear of spies. While other people of Asian, or… Oriental descent… were allowed to continue working and living within the United States, they faced heavy discrimination by the authorities and civilian population alike, with many injustices committed."

Mikasa had closed the book and placed it on the table just as Armin finished reading, a look of discomfort written across her face.

"You… don't think they still hate each other over there, do you? The colonel seemed pretty nice." Connie asked.

"Mikasa, that war was mentioned to have happened more than sixty years ago, I doubt the Americans hate Orientals now." Eren stated, trying to get his adopted sister to stop looking so off.

He found that the role of comforting the usually stoic girl was something that he was not used to.

"It isn't that, I just… didn't expect to read this about anyone related to my old family."

"Well… it's a different world over there. And we're just starting to learn about them same way they're just starting to learn about us."

"Yeah, and in a way we should be thankful they were too busy fighting each other, cause thanks to that they have the weapons to kill all the titans, right?"

"Connie, go bother Sasha." Mikasa sighed.

"Great idea!" the short teen replied, happy to evacuate from the awkward position he had accidentally put himself in.

"Uh… look, Armin, how long ago were these conflicts again?"

"More than sixty years in their world."

"Right, now look, Mikasa, sixty years is a lot of time for things to change. Maybe the people helping us aren't so different from us, but… they clearly _want_ to help us, and even if we can't eradicate all the titans, simply retaking Wall Maria would make things a whole lot better, right?"

Mikasa nodded, lifting her scarf up slightly.

"Yeah, for once, let's try to be a little optimistic, even if cautiously so." Armin chimed in.

She nodded again, smiling slightly.

She could only hope what they learned in the following month would be less depressing.

At least her remaining family was happy to actually get a detailed glimpse of what could lay beyond the walls.

She secretly hoped they would get to discover those very things for themselves soon enough.

She didn't notice that Eren had a thoughtful expression.

_If… the titans are all destroyed… will we go down a similar path?_

He nervously eyed an intimidating black and white photograph of a city, burned down worse than anything he had seen even during the initial titan invasion four years prior, as if the fire had destroyed everything and only left the empty, almost skeletal construction of the buildings.

A tiny footnote was written just below it read:

_The remains of the German city of Dresden, the firebombing of which left thousands dead and homeless, is considered one of many atrocities committed during the Second World War._

His jaw clenched, firmly choosing to believe that they would _not_ make the same mistakes.

But a small part of him worried that assertion might be wrong.

…

"I'm surprised the Newspapers didn't name you directly." Hanji told Ilse as the Humvee turned a street corner.

The Survey Corps scientist was far less distracted by the mostly bare interior of the American transport vehicle than by the complex maze of switches and buttons found in the Abrams tanks she had ridden on a few days prior.

"I think I prefer it that way. I really don't want any more attention after these last few days…" the young girl sighed, glancing at her now bandaged hand.

"You really gave us a huge help, you know. I do hope to work with you three mysterious men later." The older girl called to the other passengers in the Humvee.

Dave was silently sitting up front, asleep, which left Matt and Jake to answer with a halfhearted "we aim to please, ma'm."

"I'm sure you do, and I appreciate these books you translated for me… but I have to ask, just how… biased are they?"

Jake raised an eyebrow before saying "Well, I think they're mostly high school textbooks, and given our education system… I don't know, it all depends on your questions. I can guarantee that it is mostly truth, though maybe you'll find some bias here or there. Like the World Wars, but I haven't read it so… for all I know-"

"Ah, yes, I had been meaning to ask you about- what do you mean _world_ wars?!"

Jake made a face and whirled around to look at the girl, saying "I thought you read the damn thing!"

"I got the book _today_ and I'm still _human_, Jackson-Jackson! I only got to the section on world exploration, not the section on wars! H-how can the entire planet be tossed into a single conflict?"

"Well _I_ can't explain it without context, and I am _not _a history buff, so maybe-"

"Cut the chatter and make a left here. House is near the end of the street so find a place to stop without blocking the damn road." the radio crackled causing Hanji to stop talking immediately and Ilse to sigh, thankful that the Survey Corps captain could still manage to intimidate despite being in another vehicle.

Levi placed the tiny box in its place and returned to reading the signs on the street, the MRAP driver briefly glancing at him as he followed his instructions.

The Marine narrowed his eyes slightly, but decided to be blunt, saying "So… this a first?"

"First time delivering good news to a family? Yes, actually." The captain guessed and answered honestly.

He felt like he was being watched…

"Huh… well, I can't speak for everyone, but back home my grandpa knew this Marine who had been MIA for months, and the day he came back, uh… well, it was something that my grandpa never described, though he said there was a ton of crying…"

He glanced at the stoic captain of the Survey Corps and felt like shrinking when he saw his face.

It was subtle, but a fire burned in the older man's eyes.

Levi was slightly jealous, though he would never admit it. From what he understood, the Americans hadn't had to deal with casualties the likes of the Survey Corps for decades.

If asked, he wouldn't lie, but he wouldn't bring it up. He wasn't a kid anymore.

The American must've noticed, because the Marine mumbled a quiet "Sorry, I keep forgetting how messed up your situation is… and how easy we have it…"

"Stop over there, Hanji and I will see if the parents are still home." The captain said, choosing to move on from the subject.

_Even if they were older than most of their members, these Americans have an almost childlike naivety…_

"Alright, Hanji! Come on! Langnar, are you ready?" Levi asked as he hopped from the MRAP and moved to the Humvee that had followed them.

Hanji stretched, saying "Ah, I don't think I'll ever get used to how much more comfortable these carriage- _cars_ are. Alright, let's go before people get too curious and ruin the surprise."

The street was mostly empty as the sun was beginning to set and people were already home, cooking dinner.

The few that were out were all staring at the strange vehicles form a distance, still wary of the newcomers even if news of the walls being sealed had probably reached them by now.

Jake watched the two Survey Corps officers walk towards a house on the street before turning to Ilse, who was visibly shaking.

"You'll be fine." He said simply.

She nodded before saying "I-I know, I'm just… worried… it's been almost a full year… I don't… what if I screw something up by coming back?"

"You even believe that?" Matt asked, still standing on the turret.

The girl whirled around saying "Of course I'll be fine, but what if my parents aren't?!"

Both the Army guys turned to look at the MRAP driver, as if asking for him to speak up.

The Marine sighed, saying "Trust me; there's nothing to worry about."

Ilse was about to protest when she heard the door open and a familiar voice ask "Yes?"

Ilse looked at the man she recognized as her father from behind the Humvee, spying through the bulletproof window as the man turned and looked at the strange new sights to behold on the humble street.

Hanji turned and waved to her.

Jake gently pulled her from the window, and the young girl stepped from behind the Humvee finally making eye contact with the tired man.

Neither spoke for a few seconds.

"Il…se?" the man asked, as if still not believing what was in front of his two eyes.

"_Papa_!" the girl exclaimed, the trained scout vanishing as she ran to her father.

Jake shook Dave awake, motioning for him to get out of the car and appreciate the moment.

Matt watched as the girl they had known for a little more than a week finally returned home. A woman in an apron stepped out and looked confused for all of two seconds before she screamed in shock and happiness as she recognized the crying girl.

"We're going to do some good here, guys." Matt said after a few seconds.

"Yeah… I hope so…" the Marine sighed.

Neither the Marine nor his brothers from the Army knew what it was like to actually _do _something good while fighting for their country, even if that was why most of them had signed up in the first place. They knew the horror stories many veterans recounted about outraged and angry citizens demanding to know why children had died, why their boys were out fighting a war nobody understood, they knew many of the negatives of what they were signing up for in spite of what the recruiter had said.

They all watched the news, and the internet was a thing after all.

But for once, they somewhat smiled, knowing that at least here they had done some good.

If only a small bit of good.

Levi and Hanji stepped back to give the reunited family some room as they embraced.

The stoic captain looked away from the heartwarming scene of a family finally reuniting.

He felt a pang of pain as his mind brought images of an intelligent young man who always had a plan and a retort to his attempts of pushing others away… and a red headed girl no older than the one sobbing joyfully along with her father; one that had brought him some joy before they all joined the corps a lifetime before present day.

He did a good job hiding his old wounds as he gazed at the orange sky.

Then he stopped.

He blinked.

He narrowed his eyes and focused on the strange person standing at the very tip of a house.

Long, jet black hair seemed to float ominously with the wind and Levi felt as if time had stopped.

Piercing magenta eyes met his dull blue and he found himself confused as to how the girl was standing up there, on the very edge of a home.

He realized that it was impossible, the relatively fragile ceramic roofing wasn't mad e to support much weight, if any, and even if the girl was light she would have to weigh next to nothing to be standing right on the very edge like that.

The mysterious girl returned a sickeningly sweet smile, almost childlike, before she disappeared.

Levi blinked.

She wasn't there anymore.

He blinked again, hoping that it was just a trick of the eyes or the sun that had caused her to simply vanish.

She hadn't returned.

Had he imagined it?

He stayed silent as Ilse's mother spoke up, saying between sobs "Well… come on! Don't waste any time, invite your friends! I don't know if we have enough food ready, but… please, come in!"

Levi was too absorbed in analyzing what he had just witnessed to pay much attention as Hanji followed the parents inside, the Americans following suit, leaving him alone on the almost empty street.

He regained his composure quick enough to enter the relatively small home as if nothing had happened.

Unless he saw her again, he would keep it that way.

The sun slowly set behind him as he watched the young girl begin to bring her parents up to speed on what had happened while she was gone.

The other soldiers (and couple of Marines) stood around not really saying anything.

At least that he could do.

…

Three Warriors sat under a tree; the moonlight was too bright for them to risk standing out in the open.

"Calm down." was the first thing one of them said.

"We are calm, dumbass." another replied.

"Y-yeah, in all honesty, what are we going to do _now_?!" the third one asked.

"We figure it out."

"Oh, like when you figured out how we would sneak into the walls?"

"Maybe."

The second Warrior was stunned.

"Y-you're not serious. Again? You want to break the walls _again_?!"

"They said that in a month they will clear out the titans within Wall Maria. I would love to just run over to Trost and tear down the gate myself, but we can't. Not yet. I take it you all read the textbook they gave us."

The other two nodded.

"They can wipe out any titan incursion as long as they have the munitions… but in all honestly, I see many options moving forward."

They gave him a questioning glance.

"We have at least one month to get acquainted with our new enemy-"

"Oh, labeling them enemies already, I see."

"_They_ want to help these devils, so until we get the chance to explain it to them that these… people are… evil, we have to treat them as enemies."

"So… you want to wait until they lower their guard and then strike?"

The Warrior nodded.

"Right, smart, except for one small detail. What the hell do we do then?! We have no idea where the Founder is, if… if that other titan is anywhere close by… if we don't take some precautions we _will _be found out and we _will _be executed! These people clearly aren't as powerless as the people we have been dealing with!"

"We have a month to decide on a better plan then, or need I remind you that retreating now isn't an option? Do you want to come back a failure?!"

The second warrior went quiet, the third one saying "That isn't fair. I say we retreat and just leave them alone, that way we can let our people know-"

"Know what? We need to get to know them first, those history books are obviously simplified… regardless of what we decide we need to stay here at least one month. If you two want to quit and run, go right ahead, but I still plan on finishing the mission, understood?!"

The other two warriors nodded simply.

"Do you object to this?"

The other two warriors remained silent.

"Good. We can do this, guys, I know we can."

…

Rod calmly looked at the four adults sitting in front of his desk.

_Ackerman's recommendations…_

He put the individual files down and took a breath as he studied them.

A blonde woman that simply went by the name "Caven" was the only one he could theoretically object to as she was probably extremely loyal to the serial killer now turned secret police officer.

_But she would have to do…_

The others, he knew were loyal to a fault. One of them, Sannes, had once helped track down and execute a tragically curious couple that had managed to build some kind of balloon they had intended to use for exploring the lands beyond the walls.

Sannes had executed them himself.

He was a good leader, unquestioning, willing to get his hands dirty… a follower.

"I have gathered you here to inform you personally of your new assignments. You are all to recruit as many members of the Military Police as you can- make sure they are loyal to the _king_, not money, not women, just the king. You are all… no doubt aware of the situation occurring."

The four officers nodded.

"What do you think of these… Americans?" he asked calmly.

Caven answered swiftly, saying "They are clearly a danger to our way of life. That is a simple fact. Whether that danger will be beneficial or not isn't up to us to decide."

"I agree with her, my king. If you believe they are a danger to the wishes of The Founder, they must be resisted in every way. Although I worry our firepower may not be enough to push them back."

Rod nodded as the other two men agreed with the previous statements.

Kenny did not disappoint, he had brought him well trained killers, but also seemingly blind followers as well.

"Sannes, you are correct that we lack the firepower to push them back. So such weapons are not to be allowed within the innermost wall, period. But I have ordered a special factory to begin mass producing the improved anti-personnel gear Kenny Ackerman has been training with. In the meantime, I want all of you to seek recruits, monitor the Americans from afar… especially their interactions with that Erwin Smith. This job won't be easy; you will have to continue your duties as protectors of humanity all while training an entire regiment for a conflict that may be inevitable… or may never happen. Let us hope that the Founder is located soon."

He got up and looked out the window, the moon was glowing a bright blue in the starry night, a rare sight.

"Continue doing your job, don't be afraid to ask for more help or assistance from each other, but above all prepare."

"Yes, my liege!" all four soldiers declared, offering up their hearts to Rod who nodded solemnly.

It was both a blessing and a curse that the person who would receive the Founder once it was located again was now training with the Americans, but on the bright side, she didn't know that she was an heir to the throne.

The king had grown to appreciate how important a tool ignorance could be when it came to keeping order in the last enclave of humanity.

…

The American president impatiently tapped his foot against the ground as the US representative finished her report.

"So… we may be dealing with a puppet king then…" it wasn't a question.

"Possibly, the king was supposedly very kind to the people during the crisis four years ago, and maybe they think they need him to keep the population from all out revolting."

"Still, what idiot doesn't see the benefit of an Air Force? In all honesty, I don't like it…" the president mumbled as an aide stepped into the Oval Office, quickly placing a few sheets of paper on the desk.

"It _could_ be that they're worried about needless deaths and losing their way of life… or at least that's what they seemed to be trying to convey." she replied, not entirely convinced herself.

"Okay I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, but you watch yourself out there, I hear the base is coming along smoothly, but I don't want to lose a representative to some giant naked freaks."

"Yes, of course Mister President, thank you."

"Good night."

"Good night, sir."

The American president hung up with that and turned to his aide.

"Give me good news."

"The Harriers are ready to be shipped out, and we have droves of companies in line to go through and begin the process of modernizing the other side, including foreign companies."

The president glanced at the list on his desk.

"Germany, Japan, the Netherlands… deny all Chinese based companies, we don't need them over there… Mexico… interesting… what about American companies?" he asked with a yawn.

The aide sighed, trying not to yawn himself, saying "They all want to start bringing electricity and communication to the walled society, and we could certainly use some of the private investments…"

"I sense a _but_ coming along…"

"Well, they all want tax exemptions for their work, and we can't guarantee it since the king and his advisors haven't made themselves available to discuss these terms and we forgot to bring them up on the first meeting."

The president nodded, his mind moving back to the mysterious actions of the King and his advisory.

"You know something… I kind of want more information on that king."

The aide blinked unsure of what the president was thinking as he stood up and moved to the telephone.

"Mr. President?"

"Sorry, John, I need to make a call. Give me a minute…"

The complicated network of communications that connected humanity across the globe worked endlessly to transmit a call to different people, this time seeking one out in particular, causing a phone to ring.

Somewhere, a tired man answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, general, I need to ask you something."

"Mister President?"

"Correct answer, now tell me, if you wanted to spy on a king that's hiding something from you, and said king is hiding behind his little government building within the innermost wall of a walled society, who would you send?"

* * *

**A/N: More cannon divergence… yay? I don't know, this chapter felt off in a lot of places, since it was mostly just set up for the next arc. Rod in particular was a tough one because I kept wondering if he knew what lay beyond the walls. Ultimately, I figured he didn't know enough to make an informed decision which is why he put so much faith in The Founder (unless that was all him trying to manipulate his heir but that's something to ponder at a later time). I also wanted to try and show that the advisory aren't all evil, just misguided and somewhat selfish. I feel like the Americans bringing in translated textbooks to educate the 104****th**** was a bit out of the blue, but I think it would be a legitimate action taken by the US if it means preparing a better fighting force. **

**The place I have to suspend my disbelief a little is in the fact that the US would allow kids Eren or Armin's age to fight, but I think it isn't entirely unrealistic, since these kids are already trained soldiers by age fifteen so all the US would be doing is giving them better tools to not die later. Also, let me know if anything really felt off or needs fixing, though, I keep thinking I forgot something.**

**With that out of the way, thank you all so much for reading this latest chapter! I hope it was an enjoyable read, and if anything felt off feel free to let me know! Reviews and advice are very much appreciated. Thank you once again for reading, I hope to have the next chapter soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Hearts and Minds II**

* * *

The window in his office had never been something he cared much for, often preferring to focus more on a decent bottle of alcohol than looking at the city behind him.

For once he appreciated looking beyond it, seeing the blue sky above the wall, and the early morning rays of sunlight shining beyond it.

The Capital City of Mitras was certainly a beautiful sight to behold in the early morning hours.

It gave Dot Pyxis the much needed atmosphere both to relax and to think of what he had seen a few days prior.

The few weapons demonstrated by the Americans were unimaginably destructive.

He remembered when that girl, Langnar, had mentioned that the horseless carriages, Humvees she called them, carried weapons called Machine Guns. He had seen one Humvee with a young man emerging from a hole on its roof grab on to the turret on top, racking back a mechanism before the order to fire was given.

It wasn't too impressive; at least, that was what he thought at first. Sure, it could shoot much faster and accurately than a wall of men with muskets, he didn't see it as an effective anti-titan weapon. At least, until a large pine tree simply fell to the ground as the hail of bullets cut it in two from several hundred meters away.

Before he could think, a second Humvee had driven up next to the other one, and another soldier emerging from within it began firing a different kind of Machine Gun that was situated on the roof of the vehicle, one whose rounds caused small explosions on impact.

_That _had impressed him.

He thought back to the reaction from the MPs, the reactions could not have been more different.

They had appeared scared, not excited or fascinated.

_Did they think they would lose their status and have to actually start to work now? Or perhaps they were nervous of those weapons being suddenly turned on them…_

Regardless of the usual attitude from the MPs, he had been very fascinated by the weapons on display. At least untilIlse had explained how human warfare worked on the other side of the doorway.

"_Well, in their world, wars are won by fighting at incredible distances. The further you can shoot with accuracy the better." _She had started until he asked her_ "So the soldiers don't even see each other?"_

Ilse had shaken her head at that question, saying _"No, unless the fight is in an urban area or a building, and most militaries prefer to avoid those as they are incredibly deadly with their weapons. They are still sometimes a necessity, however."_

He looked on as a much larger vehicle started firing another Machine Gun without anyone holding on to it, with far greater accuracy than the smaller vehicles.

The idea disturbed him, so he had asked _"Miss Langnar, I'm curious. What need do they have for such weapons if titans are not a threat?"_

He had his suspicions, but he wanted confirmation.

The very thing every commander within the walled enclaves of humanity feared was now a proven reality within the other world.

Without titans, humans would be killing each other left and right.

Knowing that didn't change much for him, but he understood with a bit more clearance as to why the King was so strict about what people did.

_Though I have to admit, if fighting each other produces such advancements-_

"Commander, the others are here." Anka told him suddenly, bringing him back to the present.

"Ah, yes… Send them in."

General Connor walked in, smiling, but he was followed by four other men that wore similar but different uniforms compared to his.

The small American flag the Marine general wore on his uniform had similar colors to the ones worn by the other men, red, white, blue; but these other flags were entirely different.

One appeared to be a red cross in a blue rectangle, with red and white lines moving to the corners and intersecting in the center, as if it had marked something on a map.

The other two wore a flag that was just three straight lines, the lines positioned in a vertical manner and were blue, white, and red, white in the middle, blue and red on the sides.

The other two new flags on slightly different uniforms was a red and white one that appeared to have some kind of leaf as its center.

The other one was an odd combination of three lines, black, red, and yellow, one atop the other.

"There are other countries bringing people through, but these are the observers from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization." General Connor said introducing the other members.

"Ah yes, Nay-Toe for short, correct? I'm a busy man, gentlemen, so my apologies if I ask you to hurry things along." Pixis sighed, wondering what these other men wanted now.

"Well… let's skip the formalities then. We have been talking to premiere Zachary, and we have a fairly decent idea of what your industry can mass produce and what it can't."

"My, oh my, seeking to start selling us weapons so soon?"

The man with the crosses for a flag spoke, saying "Not exactly, but we do wish to begin modernizing some areas, both the infrastructure and the industry."

"That said, what weapons we actually give your people will be relegated to the special unit undergoing training, I believe we will simply be giving you the blueprints to make some of your own, jah?"

Then the man with the red, black, and yellow striped flag and a bizarre accent, not unlike some words he had heard, but certainly… off.

"People from our own countries, experts in their field, will be arriving soon to begin evaluations on what can be done to modernize… well, at least some aspects of your society." Connor added.

"Fine and good, but I don't really see what this has to do with me."

"Do you think you can lead them around? Maybe provide escorts or security?" the man with the red leaf on his flag asked.

Pixis raised an eyebrow.

"Your king does not want any… of our men in the capital, at least, armed men. We agreed, but… between us, we don't exactly trust the Military Police to do their job." Connor replied.

"There are many competent officers within their ranks, general."

"Oui, we are aware, Commander Erwin gave us a man we can allegedly trust, but that said, we would like a high ranking officer to be present as our people do their work, and Erwin will be busy leading efforts in the clearing of Wall Maria." The other man, again, a different accent compared to how the American and the other man spoke. It was the man with the cross for a flag that spoke closest to his understanding, which was certainly curious to him.

But that was neither here nor there.

"Well… my schedule _is_ actually quite flexible." Pixis said, more than willing to take back his earlier statement.

_He could use the mission to skip out on certain tedious tasks for the week!_

The NATO members could have sworn that they heard _someone_ in the room groan at the statement, but they weren't sure if it was the girl guarding the door, the young man standing next to her, or the piles of clearly unfinished paperwork on the left side of the commander's desk.

But that wasn't important right now.

No, right now the important thing was establishing friendly relations between allies.

But even the other officers could tell that the central government within the innermost wall was wary of the foreigners.

But the unclear reason for that wariness is what made them all suspicious.

While the others pondered if it was just good old fashioned paranoia, General Connor calmly plotted in case the worst case came true.

Unfortunately, information was one resource his side still lacked.

…

The UN hadn't been doing its job in the eyes of the American people, and many others for that matter. Ever since their failures during several human tragedies in Africa, Eastern Europe, and _plenty _of other places across the globe, people didn't take them very seriously anymore.

_Especially when certain members try to use their position to virtue signal... bunch of-_

To say the American ambassador _despised _the meetings with the "Human Rights Council" would be like saying that the bombing of Hiroshima was somewhat deadly to the local population.

Oh, it wasn't that she hated everyone on that table; it was more that she was sick and tired of the demands from certain… world leaders to be let through the Gate. Oh, allies, of course, but why on earth would the US allow smaller countries, for example, The Republic of Congo, to send soldiers and equipment when said nations didn't exactly have the logistics or technology to send them through, and _especially_ when none of other NATO members had sent more than some observers and security forces?

_Even more so when no official embassy had been established yet for anyone… _

The answer, at least to her, was obvious: _everyone _and their mother wanted a piece of what lay in the lands beyond the gate, which was understandable, but it wasn't like this was a gigantic doorway out in the Atlantic Ocean where anyone could go through; it was a large structure sitting comfortably in the center of Times Square, New York City, New York, United States of America, Area Code 212.

And while England, France, Germany- Hell, _Japan _actually had engineers, scientists, doctors and could actually transport the technology and equipment that would be useful in the process of modernizing a nation that was effectively in the middle ages, the DRC, as well as many of the other nations protesting for access, had too many problems within their own borders to even consider sending anyone other than a doctor or two.

_Comes off as greedy to be honest… and yet…_

She impatiently tapped her index finger on the table as one of a certain member of the human rights council used his time to complain about "The Evil American Empire" or whatever they called it over there.

_That's ironic considering all the human rights violations __**your**__ country has committed over the years, but sure, you keep throwing the blame at us._ _Nothing new..._

"…which is why this is a problem. You have allowed only countries that serve _you_ to go through! This is an obvious move to push the United States further up in its influence and power. What guarantee do we have that they won't just conquer the people on the other side and claim the other world and its resources for themselves, or are we forgetting their treatment of the Native Americans? These are serious questions, and_ Miss Ambassador_, I would _appreciate_ it if you took them seriously!"

_God damn it…_

"Miss Ambassador, clearly you have a response ready. Go ahead; I yield my remaining time for you to give a response." The man said, waiting, genuine irritation lining every word.

She breathed in and let out a calm sigh before saying "Mister Ambassador, we sent our people through that gate because it is situated on our land, our allies have offered to send teams that will help us improve the conditions of civilians on the other side, and we have already made it clear that we do not intend to incorporate the lands beyond the gate as a territory of the United States. Might I add that other leaders on this very council have observers on the other side to let them know if things don't go by the book? Yes, we are allowing our allies to bring scientists and engineers to help our own, yes this will hopefully benefit us and no, we are not going to give access to nations that have openly declared their hatred of us and our allies since they were conceived. This is what America will do _not_ only to benefit its people…"

She was tempted to smile at the now irritated ambassador across the table, but didn't in order to emphasize how serious she was about it.

"…not only will we do it because we are the only ones who can do this _properly_, but because it is the right thing to do. I yield the rest of my time to the Italian Ambassador." She finished, getting a very irritated glare from the now antagonized ambassadors.

_Ah, silent contempt, my favorite!_

She exited the meeting feeling rather satisfied at the fact she had certainly pissed off several world leaders.

_Public relations be damned, who were they to tell them what to do?! At least the Security Council's more reasonable…_

"Quite the speech there." one of her security guards said as she walked to her car. She didn't comment; too tired and self-absorbed to do so.

_I get that they don't like us getting stronger, but what do they want us to do, roll over and give them stuff they don't have to work for? Provide military transport to nations that won't add much of anything? We would be better off letting the Russians and Chinese through; God knows they're just waiting for us to get distracted…_

"I know you're tired, ma'm, but phone for you." her security guard said, breaking her internal rant, finally getting her attention.

He handed her a phone which she took and put to her ear.

"Yes?"

"Miss Ambassador!"

"Oh, hi, Kelly, how are things over there?"

The US representative had been coming and going from the Gate, occasionally giving her a heads up on the situation at hand, which was somewhat easy since both worked from New York.

_Technically…_

"Alright, I guess. The main FOB is about done, so the Marines have started pushing outward, taking out what hostiles they encounter. I heard Germany and Japan are sending us some engineers and special equipment… they'll have plenty of work to do in the Shiganshina district… but yeah, things are going alright overall."

"Good, good… So… how are we going with the maybe-king?"

There was a deep, disappointed sigh on the other end.

"Uh, Kelly?"

"Awful! I-it's awful! The king is apparently too tired to do anything and his advisory is dodging questions like the plague! Commander Erwin keeps telling me that they're like that, but… honestly it is _seriously_ starting to feel like they're stalling for something."

"Well, it's only been a couple of weeks, we can wait a little… hell, if the king came and gave a speech over here anytime soon a certain someone would probably say he was just our puppet and demand some sanctions be placed on us." She muttered that last part.

"Yeah, about that... The president seems to think he _is _a puppet, and I think General Connor agrees."

_Full stop._

"Wait, what are you saying?"

"That nobody from the expeditionary force or the Survey Corps trusts this so called King Fritz or his advisory. We're working with them because they haven't attacked us or tried to stop us… and so far they're requests aren't too unreasonable."

_But the second they try something…_

"You don't think the president is going to authorize a black op, is he?"

"Maybe, but he hasn't yet, I asked around, and all our special forces are accounted for. MARSOC are mostly operating at the FOB and guarding supply convoys into the walls, and we have a unit of Green Berets keeping watch over that trainee regiment we're planning on modernizing somewhat. To my knowledge no other spec ops have come through, so I doubt we're planning a coup right now."

"Well, that's good. We don't need a scandal breaking out about how we're abusing a defenseless population. Still…"

She wondered if the president was planning something to gain more information from what was truly beginning to appear to be a sort of hermit kingdom.

…

"…thus acted against divine principles and your sin cannot be greater than it is…"

"What?"

The British prime minister turned to look at the French president, saying "Commodore Perry of the United States Navy speaking to the then hermit kingdom of Japan, 1853, forever cementing not the first use, but certainly the most remembered, of gunboat diplomacy in modern history. I feel like our dear friend wants us to back him in the case such a thing becomes a necessity… or an option."

The French president shoved a hand into his pocket and frowned ever so slightly.

The meeting was supposed to be secret… at least, the contents of it were. In fact, the American president had wanted to do it face to face, which suggested two things in his mind:

Either the man wanted to gloat, or this truly was an important meeting.

"You think he'll ask for _military_ support?"

The British prime minister shook her head, repeating "No, maybe just our backing in case he wants to-"

"Good morning!"

The friendly smile felt uncomfortably genuine as the president strode through the garden, greeting his allies. They expected as much, but they were surprised to see a seemingly meek woman who they recognized as the newly appointed director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

"…oh…" the French president mumbled under his breath, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach as CIA involvement usually meant something was going wrong, or was about to go wrong, or would be made to go wrong.

"Ah, come on, she isn't so bad-"

"You called us here because you're about to do something controversial, aren't you?"

The American President smiled and waved them to the entrance.

"Well, I guess we can skip the formalities, I know you're both very busy, but I would like to let you in on a little something."

"Oh? Are you searching for co-conspirators, mister president?" the prime minister asked.

"In a way, yes."

"…already planning on toppling a small government, huh?"

"What? No, more like beginning to get information should that become a necessity. And I would like you two to help."

The two world leaders turned to the CIA director, forcing themselves not to roll their eyes.

"Oh, don't worry; it'll be a joint operation! My top generals are all in favor of it!"

"Okay, I'll bite; what do you want us to do?" the French president asked.

"Short answer, I want you to collect some of your best soldiers, before the end of the month they will be going through that Gate in New York and infiltrating the capital of that walled society. We need information on this king and his advisors, I want to know- no, I _need _to know what they want, who they are, and why they are so obsessed with keeping things as they are."

_Ah, gunboat diplomacy… sort of. _

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe they just want to preserve their way of life?"

"If I may, Mister President, the people we have encountered are very interested in our technology. The main armed forces in particular, and we have at least one scientist who is raving mad about the idea of sharing information with some of our own. She keeps harassing our officers for information on when these biologists will be going through. Yet the king and his advisory have remained eerily distant, disinterested, and willfully ignorant of many of the things we offer."

The French president scowled as he tried to come up with an understandable reason for such behavior, but in spite of the literal world of difference, he couldn't fathom why a government in such a desperate situation would ever be reluctant to get help.

_At least, no good reason…_

"Hmm, so, they are more closed off than even the Japanese way back in the day?"

"That's one way to look at it, but even the Japanese wanted to at least _begin _modernizing in order to protect themselves."

"Have you considered actual gunboat diplomacy? Just fly some Apaches into the capital and tell them to do what you want?"

Everyone looked at the British Prime minister like she had lost her mind.

"Twas but a jest!" she said in an exaggerated accent.

"We could do that, actually… _or _we could go with the plan my generals approved. Come on, Japan, Germany, they're all giving us some help and we have yet to begin scouting for resources! Imagine the payoff, the possibilities. Be a shame some of our closest allies miss out on some good old fashioned economic benefits…"

The French president narrowed his eyes, saying "Yeah, but why don't you just send some of your own special forces? Why do you want our own?"

"Given their odd… accents, French and British soldiers would probably fit in much easier than some of our own within the local population. But if you refuse, we can always just send some specially trained SEALs to escort my guys." The CIA director said simply.

"Look, I don't see what the big deal is. It's a simple recon op between cooperating allies, no one is getting assassinated or deposed; it's just a simple search for information."

_Yeah, one that didn't go through the proper channels, but oh who cares about that anyway?_

"We'll think about it." the two European leaders said almost simultaneously.

The president grinned.

…

"Ah, I love it when a plan comes together!" The American president sighed, satisfied with the day's work.

"Their reply was rather non-committal, Mister President." The director replied.

"Sure! But you know as well as I do that everyone wants a piece of that other world. I think they just want to discuss things with their own generals before making any decisions. The support we receive from our allies is also vital to…"

The CIA director tuned the president out ever so slightly as went on to talk about the importance of allies and working together and whatnot.

_Politics…_

The truth was that the US had no immediate _need _for allied forces to assist them as things stood. Even with this covert mission, there was no reason a squad of SEALS or Green Berets couldn't do the same.

_The issue would certainly be the accents, but still, that's no real problem. Staying out of sight was modus operandi of these missions anyway and the king has no special forces to-_

The CIA director actually paused briefly as the fact that she had no clue as to what these people were hiding or what secret weapons they had struck her like a slap to the face.

Yes, there was the ODM gear, or 3D maneuver gear or whatever they called it, which could theoretically be used against them but it wasn't like they had anything else right?

"…is how we overcome our challenges! Showing how we support each other even while working to spy on- uh… hey, you okay?"

The director nodded and followed the president, dismissing any worries.

The king was hiding something, and even if the official attitude was supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, paranoia was incredibly healthy in her line of work.

_If those two don't want to send troops, I'll simply request for more men to go along…_

"…anyway, I won't keep you, let your people know the plan, and I'll have John update you on any developments, alright?" the president said, concluding the speech she had mostly tuned out.

She nodded simply and went on her way.

Now in the Oval office, another issue awaited the American president.

The two other men were sitting down, facing away from him.

This was certainly a more complicated issue given the lack of information, but hopefully a line had been established.

"William! Shinsuke! How are we on this fine morning?"

The American ambassador to Japan turned first, wordlessly greeting the president, while the Japanese ambassador remained stoic in his polite and reserved greeting.

"Well, we know why you're here… let's get on with It." the president sighed.

He had tried acting warm and friendly, but the fact was that the information they were about to review was certainly going to create waves across the international community.

…

"One hundred and ninety-nine… Two Hundred…" Shadis bellowed slowly for all the cadets to hear as they slowly pushed their bodies closer to the ground, lifting themselves back up as the commandant finished each number. Just as the older man finished counting to two hundred, there was a slight pause, as if the commandant appeared to be considering continuing on for another hundred push-ups, or switching to some other exercise.

The cadets waited, expectantly, hoping against hope for a respite.

"…two hundred and one…"

No one dare let out anything resembling a protest at this point, but internally, they sighed in acceptance of the life they had grown used to.

Really, three hundred push-ups was nothing…

Colonel Parker stood by an open window, observing the scene, smiling slightly at the memories of his own time in physical training.

Behind him, a few of his rangers were ensuring the radio they had installed functioned properly as an they were preparing to send out some information that had been requested earlier.

It would be impossibly awkward and complicated, as the unit in the trainee camp would have to be communicating with the Forward Operating Base in Wall Maria, and said base would relay its message to another unit on the other side of the Gate who would then securely transmit the information over to the American capital, where a team would show it to the US president and several others. The president and whoever the information was showed to would probably rest on it for a bit, letting whatever they found out now settle before making an informed decision, then and only then would the process repeat in reverse as the president and whoever was with him asked questions back.

_If they have questions left to ask… these are pretty thorough. _

"You think this isn't just some other world? Like, maybe it's some alternate timeline? Or a _future-_"

"If that's the case, then things are a hell of lot more complicated than we could ever imagine. Honestly, I'd rather not think about it."

Colonel parker subtly turned to listen to his Rangers chatting away, theorizing about what an Asian with the name Mikasa was doing in a world that seemingly had its own race of people… unless… this wasn't _just _another world.

_I wonder what other countries will do if this world has people identical to the ones back home._

"Alright… test, test, one-two, Hill-Zero-One, how are you receiving?"

"Hill Zer-one… you ten-one, please adjust…" the reply was drowned out by static.

The ranger adjusted the radio before trying again.

"…Hill Zero one, how copy?"

"Alright, solid copy, Rangers, you guys all set over there?"

"Affirmative, Hill Zero one. We're just waiting on the interviewees to arrive for the recording. If you have any questions, give us the heads up."

Hill Zero One was now the official code call for the FOB established within Wall Maria, and Doorway was, albeit obviously, code for the Gate that connected this world to theirs. Signal would be, understandably spotty, but the plan was to record the interview before sending it to Washington D.C, hopefully giving some very interesting information both to the US and to its allies.

"Alright, now all we need is Ackerman to come in and answer the questions." The soldier stated simply, flipping on the digital camera.

He glanced outside, noticing the dark haired girl didn't appear to be struggling to keep up with the exercise.

For that matter, from where he stood, none of the trainees seemed to be having all that much trouble in spite of their age.

_Even for kids, these would be good soldiers…_

Shadis entered the room a moment later, Private Ackerman in tow, interrupting the inner thoughts of Colonel Parker.

"Colonel, if I may, perhaps I could bring her family members here as well?" he asked as the girl stood quietly in the room.

_Family?_

"Uh, yeah, actually, they're the other survivors from Shiganshina, correct? We could shoot two birds with one stone interviewing them all at once. If you don't mind, that is." Parker said, turning to the girl.

Mikasa shook her head with little emotion.

Shadis nodded before turning out the door, shouting "Yeager! Arlert! Get in here!"

The two teenagers were there in an instant, standing rigidly at attention.

"…okay, uh you three can sit right over here, I need you to answer the following questions clearly- as in, speak clearly. We're going to record your answers for a record. That okay?"

"Yes, sir!" the three cadets said before doing as was told, taking the seats a pair of Rangers placed for them at the table where another device they hadn't seen before was almost staring back them ominously, the pitch black lens appeared like an animalistic eye to the teenagers.

Colonel Parker noticed that the two boys seemed excited, or at the very least curious, as they sat there, eyeing the radio.

The Colonel smiled before speaking up.

"Alright, you three, state your names."

"Private Armin Arlert."

"Private Eren Yeager."

"Private Mikasa Ackerman." Sounding invested, but also bored.

_Might as well be private disinterest, honestly…_

Parker glanced at the man monitoring the radio signal; he nodded, giving the all clear.

"Alright, you have probably noticed by now if you've read your textbook that we do have a continent known as Asia, and people from over there are, in fact, very similar to you in physical appearance. Now, this isn't a problem for us or anybody, but it is certainly a curiosity for folks back home. Private Ackerman what can you tell us about your parents?"

Colonel Parker didn't notice the look of concern on private Yeager's face.

Mikasa stayed quiet for a second before speaking up.

"They were both very kind and happy… we lived near a forest not too far from Shiganshina… father was a hunter, and my mother was a gifted seamstress…"

"They're… no longer alive?"

"Yes. Bandits killed them several years before Wall Maria fell." she stated simply.

Parker stayed quiet, but was somewhat disturbed by how detached the girl appeared to be while telling him that information.

His left hand balled into a fist below the table, away from view, and he kept his eyes on the questions he had written.

_Kids had to grow up quickly in this world…_

"I'm… sorry for your loss… is there anything more you can tell us about them, any relatives?"

"No, my parents told me they were persecuted within the walls, mother lost her home due to her Asian heritage, father once told me that his family was hated in the inner cities due to the Ackerman bloodline, but I don't really know what he meant by that. I apologize."

The Americans visibly winced when she finished her statement.

Parker lowered the notebook he had been reading from and looked right at the girl.

"Persecuted?"

Eyes slowly turned to Shadis as the girl nodded.

The commandant shrugged, saying "Sorry, but I wouldn't know. I once heard rumors that many in the Asian clan rejected the old king and broke many laws. It isn't impossible the previous king hunted many of them down. But you'll have to ask the current king about it for any solid information."

Parker nodded.

"Is… is there anything else you know about your family heritage?"

The girl's eyebrows furrowed slightly before turning to look at Yeager.

He nodded.

_What the hell…?_

"My… mother asked me to keep this a secret… I would prefer the others don't find out."

"…Mike, close the windows."

One of the rangers stood up and did just that.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't leave this room… understood?"

His men nodded.

Mikasa brought up her right arm and pulled back her sleeve, revealing some bandages wrapped around her wrist.

Parker narrowed his eyes as she swiftly removed the bandages.

"My mother gave me this mark, she said it was something that was passed through our family. She only told me to pass it on to my children when I had them… I don't know what it means for certain…"

Parker wasn't certain on what it meant, as at first glance it resembled the capital "A" many teens liked to spray paint or put on their clothes to symbolize "anarchy".

But then he looked closer at the tattoo.

"…they… sort of look like… Samurai swords… that…"

The girl tilted her head slightly, unsure of what the word signified to the other men.

"Sorry, our translated textbooks don't cover much of Asian history, but… we had people living centuries ago that used… look, I'm really not the one who can tell you about this but… thank you, this is very helpful information. It tells us that a culture exists- or existed in this world that was very similar to our own… would you mind if we shared this information with some of our leaders back home?"

"I don't mind." She stated simply.

He somewhat expected the girl to give her two cents, or at least ask a question or two, but other than adjust the ever present scarf around her neck, she remained silent as she wrapped her mark in a bandage once again.

_What's up with that scarf, anyway?_

"Anyway, that… somewhat answers most of our questions, actually, so thanks for that. Now, moving on, the three of you are from Shiganshina?"

"Yes sir." The three teens replied, varying degrees of enthusiasm characterized each of them, Mikasa being the least interested, while Yeager and Arlert seemed fairly excited to be talked to.

"And… the three of you were there that day?"

They nodded, their faces shifting slightly as the memories of the catastrophe were being brought up suddenly.

"I won't spend too much time on it, but you're the only witnesses we know of as of right now… I need details. Did any of you witness the Colossal titan, or at least-"

"All three of us saw it, sir. Everyone back then did…" Yeager said in a tired tone.

The colonel nodded for them to continue.

"It… it was just a little taller than the walls, his head peeked over the walls." The boy with golden hair said.

"Yeah, and just before it appeared there was a huge explosion that shook the ground." Yeager added.

The colonel blinked and raised an eyebrow.

"An explosion? Like… a lightning strike, or-"

"No sir, the…. The ground actually shook."

The girl with the scarf nodded, supporting what Yeager said.

"Did… could it have fallen from the sky or something like that?"

The three cadets shook their heads.

"We were looking at the sky when it happened-" Yeager began.

"A couple of birds were flying over the wall, remember?"

"Geese." Mikasa added simply.

"Y-yeah… then the explosion just… happened. There wasn't any warning, at least, none that we could see."

The colonel glanced at the commandant with a look of worry written across his face.

Parker rubbed his chin, wondering just what the hell they could be dealing with.

Ilse had only given them second hand information, the sheer basics of what she had heard or read, but what the eyewitnesses were saying suggested that there was some sort of actual intelligence behind the attack… unless…

"The Garrison soldiers stationed there… how ready were they for an attack?"

Shadis answered, saying "I don't think they could have been ready. The walls had never been breached, and from what I remember most of the garrison soldiers there spent their time drinking."

Parker blinked, as did the three cadets who suddenly whirled around and looked at Shadis.

"Commandant, you lived in-?"

The man shook his head, saying "Not exactly, but I was commander of the Survey Corps back then. I had to travel to it many times."

"So the Survey Corps used the Shiganshina district as a sort of stepping off point for every expedition?"

The man shook his head, saying "Every outer district was used once or twice, although I would be lying if I said that Shiganshina wasn't one of the more used districts."

Again, Parker rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

_Was this a coincidence, or did the enemy know that the Corps used the district often? If it was the latter, then then enemy can think… and if the enemy can think…_

There just wasn't much information to go on.

Eren actually wanted to ask his commandant more about his time as a Survey Corps commander, but remained silent, seeing that the man didn't look like he was in a talkative mood.

He glanced at the American who appeared to be deep in thought as well.

If he didn't know any better, he would think the soldier looked scared.

"Is… something wrong, colonel?" he asked then, almost without thinking.

Colonel Parker glanced at the teenager with a worried expression before saying "I don't know. We don't know enough about titans to make any conclusions. Is there anything else you remember about the Colossal Titan?"

The three cadets were silent until Mikasa stated "I didn't see any skin on it."

"Y-yeah, that's right."

Yeager simply nodded.

Parker blinked before saying "Right… that's good, that's really helpful… thank you." he said, not having the slightest idea what he could make of the information dropped on him then.

But not wanting to end the meeting on an ominous note, he asked "Now, can you three keep a secret?"

"Sir?"

"You want to know why we ultimately settled on a unit of cadets that had survivors from Shiganshina?"

They said nothing.

"Shiganshina will become a step off point for operations into the lands beyond the walls. I would like to know which house, or houses belonged to you three… it will never be enough to make up for what you all lost, but, it will be a small victory."

…

"Remember! Brothers and sisters! The goddesses of the walls guard us and protect us! Our prayers are being answered as we speak! For I look and I see miracles of unparalleled glory! Who else, but the goddesses of the walls, could bless us with the means to reclaim our land? None, I say, none!"

Matt eyed the skinny old man standing on a wooden crate, as a whole crowd of civilians solemnly gave chanted quiet praises to the goddesses of the walls.

The man might as well be a minister back home, given his garments.

That said; the constant talk of goddesses and eternal protection might get him tossed out of most Christian churches in Kansas.

"So join me, my brothers and sisters! We shall be hosting a feast of thanks this every week in every district! However, I would love for you to join me in Mistra, along with the rest of the clergy, in order to collect money for the yearly sanctification of the goddess Maria, who has finally allowed for us to inhabit her once more."

_God help you if you start spouting that crap in any Alabama congregation…_

The balding man cheerfully hopped from the wooden crate and started talking with several excited civilians while other men revealed small bowls where one could donate seemingly anything as Matt noticed a woman drop a silver bracelet into one.

"Morons…" he overheard one of the Marines mumble. They were standing out on the street, near Isle's home, mostly just waiting for orders to move out and return to the FOB, but escorting Ilse was still their primary mission.

_Especially after that little debacle with the Military Police._

Thankfully none had appeared in their short time staying there.

"Let them believe what they want, ain't no harm." Matt sighed.

"Nah, I don't care about that, I care about the fact that they're giving so much money to these pricks."

"…my church does that every Sunday, nothing wrong with-"

"You prove my point. Don't give your money away like that, dumbass."

Matt winced at the older man's statement, but remained quiet.

"You're… Murphy, right?" Matt asked after a second, trying to read the tag that was obscured by the butt of the M4.

"That's my gunner, I'm Kane."

"Kay, any info on when we move out?" the younger Army private asked.

The Marine didn't reply.

Matt wanted to ask again when he felt a presence ahead of him.

He turned back to see the priest, or minister or whatever the hell these people called their religious leaders approaching them on the street.

"You are the Americans, correct?" the man asked, a calmness lining his words, which made him difficult to read.

Matt simply nodded.

"Pastor Nick, at your service, I have a growing congregation within the inner wall, and I… I wanted to thank you men personally, but you left Wall Sina so quickly…"

"We aim to please, sir." Matt replied courtly.

"Yes, I see… you really are gifts from the goddess. Tell me, do you have a goddess in your world? Do you see them often?"

_Oh, boy…_

"That… _really _depends on who you ask." Kane replied calmly.

Pastor Nick turned to the Marine with a confused expression.

"Yes sir, many people believe in a variety of goddesses and gods, some believe in a single god, some don't believe in anything at all. Happens when you have more than seven billion different human beings living on the same planet." Matt replied.

Pastor Nick turned to Kane, as if asking the Marine to confirm the statement, something Kane did by simply nodding.

"I see… perhaps… perhaps we worship the same goddess without knowing-"

"Ah, no sir, see, I worship one God, and one God only, but we have historical evidence that he exists, and I assure you, he is no wall." Matt replied courtly.

Pastor Nick laughed, saying "I'm certain you he wasn't, young one. I believe the walls are the gifts of our goddesses, a sort of incarnation so that we may see how glorious they are, being the tallest, most magnificent structures on the face of this world."

_Nobody tell him about our engineering feats…_

"Well, I can't argue with that." Matt said, growing tired of talking religion.

"It's quite alright, you are still young. I am certain you will reach enlightenment."

Matt did his best to not roll his eyes.

"Now… forgive me, but… would it be possible from you to allow me to take something, perhaps some food or something from your world so that I may show our congregation? If it isn't an inconvenience of course…" Pastor Nick asked suddenly.

Kane sighed and reached into one of the many pockets on his person.

He pulled out a small silvery packet.

"Peanuts laced with hot peppers. Don't eat them unless you have water or milk nearby, seriously."

The older man was surprised, taking the small packet and thanking them before joining his other colleagues as they walked down the street.

"You're hoping he eats those, huh?" Matt asked then.

"Don't really care. Hate stuff like that on my MREs… if I can get rid of him _and _the damned peanuts all while helping our little hearts and minds campaign, then I don't really care what he does with them."

"Ah, I see." Matt mumbled, not really having anything else to say. He checked the M4 over, mostly out of boredom.

They were quiet for a minute, eyeing the slightly vibrant streets as the commoners walked past them, barely stopping to look at them anymore.

They had been there for a solid week at that point, not only acting as security for Ilse, but mostly observing the locals and assisting the other US forces coming through as much as they could.

Several of the civvies suddenly moved aside as a single Humvee drove slowly through the fairly narrow street, passing the Marine MRAP and Army Humvee before making a slight turn and awkwardly parking exactly at the street corner.

A pair of Marines hopped off along with a couple of men carrying medical supplies.

Kane narrowed his eyes, about to check on the radio if something was wrong, but his gunner beat him to it.

"House delivery, Kane, nothing to worry about." The radio crackled.

American aid was trickling into the walled society, and while the miracle of modern medicine could not be fully exploited while the population remained in a medieval state, there was still much that a simple box of antibiotics could do to help out.

"God damn it… copy…"

Kane glanced at Matt who had raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Ah, nothing... Just thinking that if you're _really_ bored, you could always replace Jake in there." the soldier replied courtly.

"…I'm good. Not even seeing that girl in a dress is worth sitting next to that woman."

"Ilse does look kind of cute in that, doesn't she?"

"…you're from Kansas, right?"

"Rah…" Matt sighed.

"Moved to Jersey or sent there?"

"Parents moved me there right before my senior year, finished high school, enlisted. You?"

"Meh, don't worry about me, I just wanna know how old fashion you are." The Marine stated with a wicked grin.

Matt narrowed his eyes.

_What game are you playing?_

"You trying to bait me into something?"

"It's a simple question."

"Yeah, well… Grandpa taught me to be cautious…"

"Cautious about what?" Ilse asked as she opened the door. Once back home and technically on leave, the young girl had switched back to the standard civilian attire, which in this world meant that she looked like she had walked out of an episode of _Little House on the Prairie_.

If anything, it made the girl look younger than she was.

Kane turned to look at an especially interesting pebble on the street while Matt turned to the girl they were supposed to be guarding and said "About what one says."

Ilse nodded, an unreadable look on her face. She briefly reached inside the house and grabbed a wooden tray with five cups.

"Ma mixed some of that mix you guys gave us, you guys thirsty?"

Matt could've sworn he heard Kane mumble "depends on who you ask…" under his breath, but ignored it and took the drink.

"Orange… thanks." He mumbled and turned to the street again.

Ilse tilted her head slightly as she turned to the Marine, wordlessly asking if he wanted a cup.

"Thanks… so… how's professor titan treating our guys?" Kane asked.

Ilse simply sighed.

…

"And that's all well and good, but what I don't understand is _why._ How come the destruction of _two_ cities ended the war when so many others hadn't resulted in the same?"

Jake legitimately began to wonder if slamming his head into the table hard enough would knock him out, but decided that doing so wasn't appropriate when Ilse's mother was literally in the kitchen next to them so he simply sighed and tried to answer the questions the Survey corps' resident scientist kept asking.

_Unfortunately, letting you find out about nukes isn't something anyone needs right now…_

The Americans had to keep _some _secrets from the unknowns in this world.

"Well, Germany was pretty much destroyed, and I think Russia wanted a piece of Japan, and with our own forces focusing everything on the Japanese, well, they just sort of broke and gave up. Those two cities were just the final straw, I guess." he half lied, something the scientist noticed.

"But their supposed Warrior Spirit- surely there's something you're not telling me!"

"Miss Zoe, for the love of God, I told you that I'm not a history buff, ask our commanding officers when you meet them, or hell, any of the scientists you're gonna be working with, I don't see why you have to ask me or any of our guys."

The woman let out a loud cackle that reminded Jake of nightmares he had as a child before she said "Two simple reasons my dark friend! One, they're not here yet, and two, I want to gain as much knowledge as I can. See, I _know _they have a head start, and I want to absorb as much information as I can before they arrive. All information is vital, including yours and your teams. So, even if it feels like a bother, I am learning from you all."

Ilse's mother looked at the woman just as her daughter came back inside with the empty tray.

"I'm still impressed by their instantaneous foods." She said as she started washing the dishes as Hanji proceeded to ask about something dubbed _The Cold War_, whatever that meant.

Ilse glanced at their relatively small house.

The few inside Americans were mostly just sitting around wherever they could, some asleep, others watching Jake try his best to answer Hanji's pressing questions about the world, and humanity… and how it would help them stop the titans.

_If the FOB is done, and the Marines are starting to push into the more infested areas… when are the biologists going to start coming in?_

She overheard voices from outside and turned once she heard the door swing open.

A tired looking captain Levi walked in with his four subordinates, saying "Not sure if any of you heard yet, but we're being called out. Erwin says we should be ready to move out, Hanji… Langnar."

Kane walked in after him and said "Yeah, the captain's not kidding, radio calls are coming in now. Hey, Jackson; got a Staff sergeant Kilroy on the radio for you."

Ilse noticed that Jake got a conflicted look in his eyes before he let out a tired sigh.

"We can continue our conversation at the base, yes?" Hanji called, perfectly content.

The American simply waved at her, non-committedly.

Ilse noted the worried look on her mother's face.

"It's okay, I signed up for this… we'll retake the wall and… and I promise things will be better than ever, mom." Ilse said, forcing as much confidence as she could into the words, hoping some of it would rub off on her worried mother.

…

"Yes, staff sergeant?" Jake asked into the radio, bracing himself for the gruff voice to come through the radio.

"Jackson, enjoyed your little R&R?"

_How, there's not much to do here?_

"Yes, sergeant." He said instead.

"Good, inform Matt and Dave that the three of you will continue to escort Ilse, I hear the Kane and his Marines have the same orders… regardless, head back to the FOB ASAP, the first titan clearing operations are starting and we need the firepower as well as the guides from the Survey Corps. The route from here to Trost is clear, so more aid will be trickling in, but we want the whole wall to be secure."

Jake nodded calmly before asking "Uh, hey Sarge, any word on plans to capture any titans?"

"Is that scientist harassing you again?" the older man asked in a mocking tone.

"…I-"

"Yeah, yeah, tell her to get her ass over here, she can ask the international team herself."

"Ah, understood."

After confirming a few extra orders, the sergeant cut the connection, leaving Jake alone with his thoughts.

_Tell Hanji about the international team… Yeah, I don't think I'll tell her sh-_

*tap, tap*

"Jesus Christ!"

_Matt!_

"What?!" he asked, pushing the door open.

"Err… Captain Levi suggested we clean up the house before we leave."

"Suggested or ordered?"

"Does it matter? He threw the idea out there, excellence is part of our-"

"Dude, we had to clean up after ourselves regardless… why are you so pale?"

"…Kane introduced the captain to our sanitary supplies…"

"Yeah, and?"

…

"You really didn't have to clean up our entire home."

"No, it was our pleasure to help, sir." Kane said as he shook the hand of Isle's father.

The older man nodded, saying "You boys did an impeccable job, though. Is everyone from your world so… I don't know… thorough in the job they do?"

_Hell no…_

"We aim to please, sir."

The older man smiled slightly before turning to the shorter officer.

"Captain, I don't want to sound selfish, but…" the man lowered his voice to a near whisper, saying "Please… bring her back…"

Losing a daughter once was hard enough on any parent, but to get them back so suddenly only to send them back into the fray after such a short time was a monumental sacrifice, one Levi found himself being glad his own family was not alive to make.

Levi simply gave a knowing nod as he moved to his horse.

Kane stood there, unsure of what to say, he simply nodded as the door opened and Ilse stepped outside in full uniform, her now red eyed mother following closely.

"Our little girl's all grown up… we'll be waiting for you here always, Ilse."

The girl didn't say anything, simply nodding as she hugged her father goodbye.

She moved to the Humvee, not saying a word.

Kane turned one last time to look at her parents, saying "Sir… thank you." he said simply before turning to the MRAP again.

Murphy raised an eyebrow as he stepped inside and strapped in.

"You alright, bro?"

"Yeah… let's just get the hell out of here…"

The sun would set in a few hours, and it was safe r to travel at night now that the Humvees and MRAPs not only had night vision equipment, but powerful headlights as well.

Team Levi got into the MRAP, Hanji returning with Jake and the others in the Humvee.

Eld suddenly asked as the engine roared to life "I take it things are different back in your world… the goodbyes, I mean."

Murphy shook his head and Kane said "No, actually… when I left home my parents reacted the same way…"

They were all silent as they slowly drove down the street in the orange glow of the late afternoon sun.

Levi spoke up then, saying "I would hope so… shows that we're still people no matter where you are."

…

"That's it? You guys just answered some questions?" Thomas asked as Eren tried to eat the small loaf of bread in peace; however that was looking rather impossible as every single cadet wanted to learn something, _anything _about the strangers living amongst them.

"Yeah, they want to know about the colossal titan, the things we saw that day." He said in as calm a tone as he could muster. He didn't mind answering questions, but Americans had explicitly told him to keep some things secret. He wasn't sure why, but orders were orders, and he was more interested in the fact that their commandant had once been the commander of the Survey Corps.

"But… didn't they show you anything else? Maybe some new weapon, or invention?"

"Sorry, other than some equipment to record our conversation, nothing." he sighed.

"Did they at least hint at anything about where we'll be going next month?" the teenager that was built like a wall asked.

Eren turned to Reiner, who seemed eager to get an answer.

"Hint? Uh… can't say." Eren said, looking at the ceiling, as if he found it of particular interest.

"Ah, I see… so they told you nothing at all?"

Armin swallowed his own bread and asked "Will the location matter much?"

Reiner laughed slightly, patting the tall teen next to him on the back, saying "Me? No, but Bert is kind of scared of us being taken to… _the other side_…"

The taller teen turned to his friend with a look of mild disbelief..

"Scared?" Thomas asked.

"With all I've read, I'm more curious than worried. Why would you be afraid?" Mina asked.

"Guys come on, no need to jerk him around, if Bertholt's scared, then I'm certain he has his reasons."

The tall teen glared at Reiner before muttering under his breath "The guns scare me, okay?"

Bert ignored the laughter as Eren asked "Uh, the guns? We trained with muskets just last year, didn't seem to scare you then."

_Good point…_

"It's the design… off-putting… what do you want me to say… stop laughing… please." He replied meekly.

Eren hadn't laughed, though the same could not be said about their comrades, who were now stifling their wholehearted outburst.

Thomas stopped and said "Sorry, but you have to admit, is that really what you're most afraid of?"

Something shot across the eyes of the tall teenager, and he said "That rifle alone is far more powerful than anything the titans can throw at us, especially when used from far away. Against titans, I guess it will be an excellent weapon, but what happens if they turn them on us?"

The dark tone of the question silenced the cafeteria.

Reiner blinked, saying "Bertholdt…"

"Sorry, I-"

"They won't turn them on us."

It was Eren who spoke up then, confidence in his voice as he swallowed the last piece of his bread.

"They want to help us, there's a common enemy, and we're cooperating with them. Just like in that huge war they fought alongside those… So…be…its." He mumbled the name he barely remembered.

"Soviets…" Armin corrected.

"The Soviets turned into their enemies after the war, however. Aren't you worried the same could happen here?"

The blonde grinned and cheerfully said "That's the thing about learning about their past, we can avoid the same mistakes!"

Bertholdt sighed, and nodded, saying "Well, maybe I'm worrying for nothing."

…

The American representative sighed as she entered the government building.

She wished the Military Policed allowed US troops to come in with her, but the fact that they had agreed to not bring in any modern weapons into the capital put a damper on that.

_For now…_

Thankfully, plainclothes security didn't carry any visible weapons, and the Garrison escort appeared more competent than the Military Police officers lazing around.

_Though I would prefer an MP5 to an old musket any day..._

She found the meeting hall empty except for the man she now knew to be Deltoffe, who was reading some papers.

"Ah, Miss… is something wrong?" he asked upon seeing her.

She smiled as politely as she could before saying "I would like to ask the king some questions about his… Asian subjects."

Deltoffe blinked, confused for a second, and then said "Oh! The old Asian Clan?"

"You… know about them?"

"Awful story, but I don't know all the details. Supposedly when the titans were overrunning humanity a hundred years ago, a small clan from the orient entered along every other faction of humanity that remains. From what I understand, they defied the king which led to many losing their lives."

"…are there any left?" she asked quietly as her bodyguards seemed to be having a staring contest with the MPs.

The man seemed thoughtful for a moment, but then laughed.

"I'm sure you can still find some if you look around. But honestly that isn't my line of knowledge."

The representative narrowed her eyes.

Deltoffe noticed and asked "Is something wrong?"

"I… we need to speak with the king about this."

"Why?"

"Orders." she said simply as something told her this man didn't a concept for the term "genocide".

"Well, if you must, then I shall talk to him tomorrow, and send a messenger to let you know when you can meet him." Deltoffe replied courtly.

"We can wait h-"

"Miss… I recommend you head back to Wall Maria. The outside MPs don't bother checking for weapons because we haven't told them to yet, but they start tomorrow. Worry not; I shall take care of preparing a chat with King Fritz."

She noted the subtle threat as the two men with unicorn emblems on their uniform kept eyeing them, ancient rifles on hand not pointed at them, but that could be changed with a simple order.

"Sir, those are some hurtful words."

"Unintentionally so, I assure you. But we have strict rules in the capital. I'm certain Commander Pyxis made that clear earlier. You should run along now." he said, glancing at the Garrison officer in charge of escorting the Americans.

Kelly gave a fake smile and decided to end the conversation there, saying "Well, if you insist, sir. I do appreciate your kindness."

Deltoffe returned an equally fake smile and the conversation appeared over.

At least… in his eyes it was over.

Anka balled her hand into a fist but remained silent until they were out of the government building.

"Did… did your men bring any of those weapons?" she asked quietly.

The US representative shook her head, saying "Them? No, they're not carrying any handguns. I specifically brought them in case they tried searching them for guns."

_Plastic knives aren't in the deal after all…_

Anka sighed, before saying "Wait, then why comply with what the old guy wants?"

"Because I want to send a message back home and I don't want him thinking we're planning anything against them."

Anka winced at that statement and asked "Are you?"

The American representative blinked before asking "Would you believe whatever I answered?"

Anka frowned saying "No, I think I understand. The Commander has a saying about appearances… mixing truth with falsehoods… what I don't know is if your deceit is for the better or not."

Kelly smiled at that, saying "Smart kid. We'll know soon enough if either of our acts is for the better or worse."

…

"Refusing to talk?" the Japanese ambassador asked.

"Maybe, our representative did get there somewhat late, so it's possible they need some time to get organize." The American ambassador replied.

The president just saw this as more suspicious behavior. Ignoring the fact that they didn't really wish to talk, they had made a non-committal agreement to "bring up the subject" to the king.

_But let's put that aside for now…_

"Mikasa is originally a Japanese name, yes?" the president asked.

The Japanese Ambassador nodded.

"Research indicates that it is, although some other cultures have used it as well."

"And then add the fact that her tattoo seemed to show three Samurai Swords… I don't know, does the symbol remind you of anything?"

"The A for anarchy your youths like to draw, but in truth, this is a question for historians… many of the old samurai clans had their own symbols, but I never saw one like this."

The president nodded and the three were silent for a moment.

"I'll let my people know about this… it could mean many things moving forward."

The president nodded, worried about the implications.

_At best, it could mean that the Gate had opened up in Japan at some point and a small group of people went through, at worst… _

The final scene from the old Planet of the Apes movie where the other world turned out to be earth all along came to mind.

_We just don't know enough to say one way or the other. All we know is that the UN is going to be very interested in this information… as well as certain other nations…_

"Yeah, that's okay… anyway, about the batch of engineers you're sending… they give you an estimate on the manpower they may need?"

…

Hanji hopped out of the prefab building she had slept in as the morning sun began to emerge and stretched.

They had arrived fairly late the previous night… or early depending on how Jake liked to define things, but the American forces had led her to a small bunk where the scouts assisting them could rest, and since many of the other officers from the Survey Corps were out on the field hunting titans, she essentially had the place to herself.

She was making her way to the mess hall when she noticed that there were several more of the vehicles the Americans used to dig and flatten the ground.

But these were digging large holes for some reason.

_Curious…_

The mess hall was empty except for a group of people that weren't wearing any uniforms, were using several odd devices, and some were talking in a language she didn't understand.

One of them was a pale and sickly looking woman who saw her, then tapped the older man next to her, as if alerting him of her.

_Now why would…_

Before the thought could even finish forming in her mind, she realized that these could _only_ be the team of scientists the Americans had been talking about bringing to study the titans!

The older man turned to look at her and before she decided to wait for him to introduce himself.

"Ah, you must be Miss Zoe, correct?" he said in an accent she didn't recognize.

She grinned.

If gaining knowledge was a drug, Hanji had been riding a high the previous weeks when the doorway was discovered, but the excitement she was feeling right that second, as the doorway to learning the secrets of the titans was opening right in front of her, was not something any sane person could compare to what she was feeling.

"That would be a correct assertion, mister…"

"Doctor, actually, Doctor Austin Hermann, lead biologist of this multi-national team of… detectives you could call us." The man said, grinning.

She sucked in a breath, ready to ask a question when the sickly looking woman said "Hold it, we all want to get to the questions and comparing of notes, but none of us have eaten breakfast yet, and all my stuff is back at the dorm."

"Ah… of course! Nourishment is important, after all."

_Control yourself, Hanji, you'll have plenty of time to chat with the scientists…_

Doctor Hermann spoke up then "Get yourself some breakfast, I'm quite eager to learn of these… giants."

"Well, doctor, I thankfully keep my notes with me! I could read them to you all if you'd like."

"Luckily? Wait, no one told you we were here?" the woman asked then, pausing whilst holding a spoonful of porridge.

"Ah?"

"We called ahead, thought the Army guys would've told you-"

Hanji turned as she heard the door open, Jake walking inside along with Matt and Dave.

He made eye contact with Hanji, smiled awkwardly and moved on to grab breakfast.

"…no, I was not informed… they were rather busy, probably slipped their mind."

…

Levi moved into the room that was becoming more and more complicated by the second as Americans carried in equipment he didn't really understand, cables jotting out of places, large screens showed what he now somewhat recognized what the Americans called a "camera feed".

It showed an aerial view of the Forest of Giant Trees, only far higher than any of their members could hope to reach with their gear.

_Air craft…_

"Mike." Levi said, seeing the Survey Corps officer talking with an American officer.

"Captain..." Mike acknowledged.

Levi eyed the map, which had two arrows jotting out from the location of what the Americans were calling Hill Zero One.

_One arrow going east, one west… following the walls._

"We have elements of the Marines First Armored Division and several elements of your Survey Corps expeditionary forces eliminating just about everything between here and what some described as a farming community not too far from the entrance to Shiganshina, the same holds true for our western push, though there aren't many towns they can use as landmarks as is, so we're mostly providing aerial support for them, although it hasn't been too necessary." The American officer said.

"Why is that?" Levi asked.

Mike answered, saying "Aerial surveylance shows that most titans on the southern area of Wall Maria are amassed near or around Trost. Guess all our expeditions attracted them to us. Regardless, there are fewer titans to encounter when heading west than when heading east."

"I see, so the western push won't have much priority?"

"Not unless they encounter a horde of them, but so far we have those mapped out. Planning on checking the northern side of the walls later today, but I'm not too worried." the American said, smiling slightly.

Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, the new jets… he hasn't seen them, right?"

Mike shook his head.

"Right, hold on."

The officer returned with a small computer, saying "Recorded this strike on a group of fifteen meter titans"

Levi watched the screen show a black and white moving picture, large figures he could recognize as Titans were moving into what appeared to be a tree line.

There was no sound to be heard.

"A couple of scout units saw them and called it in, and since the new aircraft were patrolling nearby, they figured some target practice would be beneficial." Mike said as Levi saw flashes and what appeared to be rockets annihilate the large beasts in an instant, the large entities going down in a cloud of smoke as they tore through some of the smaller trees.

"You people are just full of surprises, huh?" the Survey Corps captain replied, painfully aware that he sounded cold.

"You could certainly say that, captain… anyway, how's your squad?"

"They're all set to leave once we get the order."

"Excellent, your team will be heading west along the Army and Marine Escorts you've gotten acquainted with, once you link up with elements of the First Armored. The scientific team that came through will be accompanying you and will be carrying out observations of titan behavior, hopefully be this time next month we can begin carrying out capture operations… Anyway, be ready to leave with a resupply unit in one hour." The American officer mumbled the last statement.

Levi still thought he heard a familiar scientist scream with delight in the distance.

"Understood." he said, glancing at the map.

Several markings drawn in some kind of red ink read "destroyed" and then numbered how many of the giant monstrosities plaguing the land had been killed.

Near Trost there were over a hundred kills already, and most of the zones in the main push listed high numbers as well.

_We really could have the wall reclaimed by next month if this is true… unless there are way more of them._

"Ah, right. Captain, don't forget to call in aerial support if needed. We don't want any close quarters engagements unless it's unavoidable."

The captain nodded before heading outside.

The first thing he noticed was an excited Hanji arguing with a tired Moblit. The young man had clearly just arrived from the wall after travelling all night in order to catch up with his superior.

"A-and those ditches theyre digging! They plan on keeping them in there! Actually effective titan holding facilities, Moblit! Do you know what this _**means**_ for us?"

Levi walked past the odd couple and moved to his team, the group coming out of the mess hall with a content expression.

"I don't think one could get used to the different types of food they bring." Gunther of all people mumbled as Levi walked up to them.

"Captain, we got orders?"

"We're escorting Hanji and her scientists alongside Ilse and her escorts. We're heading west and are going to link up with elements of what they call the First Armored; they're the tanks we saw when we first met them. New rules, we only engage the titans up close _only _if there's no other choice."

His team nodded, almost as one.

"Wait, are we going to help Hanji stat capturing them?"

Levi shook his head, saying "Operations to capture titans won't start until most of them are eliminated from within Wall Maria."

Oluo winced before asking "Wait, these other scientists… are they just like… Miss Zoe?"

Levi shrugged simply.

"Probably not, I think I saw some of them leaving the mess hall when we went in. They looked kind of shy." Petra replied.

"You'll get to meet them all personally soon, now if you don't have any more questions ready your gear, we move out in an hour."

"Yes, sir!"

Levi took a second to look around him as his team moved to fetch their ODM gear.

Construction workers on one end of the camp, diggers excavating holes not too far from that, the huge structure of the Gate looming not too far from the command center and Mess Hall.

He looked around, wary of whatever he had seen just a week ago.

The mysterious woman was nowhere to be seen.

Knowing he _saw _something was bad enough, but he didn't like not knowing _what_ he saw. With nothing to go on, he decided to move on and do what he had to do, which was locate the other Americans and see if they were ready themselves.

_At least these soldiers from another world were diligent._

…

Father Nick happily waved the last of his congregation goodbye as they exited the early morning service. He moved to the altar to retrieve the gift that one American had given him, the very odd wrapping of the incredibly hot peanuts was something he had been showing off to the congregation as proof of the blessings of the goddess.

He had followed the instructions and not opened it, knowing full well that while it was simply a snack, he wanted to preserve it as proof of sorts.

He had just grabbed the small packet when the doors behind him burst open.

"Hey, hey, hey, good morning Father Nick!" a loathsome voice called in a cheerful tone.

The religious man turned to look at Kenny Ackerman and Djel Sannes, leading members of the First Brigade.

"Um… good morning… is something wrong?"

He noticed that Sannes was eyeing the gift the American had given him.

"Well, we heard you had a chat with some of the soldiers escorting that Langnar kid and we wanted to ask if they told you anything bizarre." Kenny asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Father Nick raised an eyebrow, saying "Nothing too bizarre. One mentioned that people in their world have many beliefs such as the idea that there is only one true god, which I won't judge them for-"

"Shut up… Ackerman, that's not why we're here." Sannes interrupted, an impatience in his voice.

Kenny raised both arms up in surrender, saying "What, can you blame a guy for being curious? Get off my back, sheesh…"

Sannes turned to Father Nick and asked "Have you been in contact with the heir to the throne?"

Father Nick winced, saying "No, why would I be?"

Sannes eyes anrrowed as he got dangerously close to the old man.

"Did you tell the Americans anything about the heiress?"

"My loyalty is to the true king of humanity, I would never betray his orders. The girl is, at least to my knowledge, ignorant of her true identity. She should still be training with the military, if my information is accurate."

"Her squad was selected by the Garrison commander to be part of a special unit that is trained by the Americans…"

Nick winced at that statement, but didn't show any fear despite what Sannes was trying to imply.

"Now, that serves as a good thing in a way… they intend to use the Shiganshina District as a base later, so she will be as far away from the throne and society as she possible can. However, do not get cozy with the Americans… they are not our friends, they are not here to help us, and the second the king deems it necessary we must be ready to push them back through that gate."

Nick gawked at the statement, asking in a hushed voice "The king plans on fighting them?"

Sannes smiled slightly, grabbing the packet Nick had been holding and swiftly opening it.

"Yes, Father, if they become a threat to the Will of the Founder. Now, you know that this information is to be kept secret, yes?" he said, grabbing one of the peanuts in the bag and looking it over, smelling it.

Father Nick nodded.

"Good. Make the smart decision, Nick. We'll be watching you." Sannes promptly returned the open bag to Nick before dropping the peanut to the ground and crushing it under his foot.

Kenny rolled his eyes before following the man out the door, leaving the old man with a choice.

"You know, sometimes you need to think for yourself, Sannes." Kenny mumbled as they locked the door behind them.

"Ackerman, I don't care about myself, the Will of the Founder is all that matters right now." Sannes mumbled as he grabbed a piece of paper.

"I got that, I got that, geez… what I worry about is how ready we may be to fight off these other-worlders."

Sannes scoffed, saying "Your anti personel squad is an effective tool, better than anything I have. I won't say this again, Kenny, but I appreciate your subordinate Caven training my men. I don't know what all those machines of theirs can do, but they are still men that go down when shot."

Kenny nodded slowly.

"Now keep a close watch on that old man, if he tries to even approach any Americans-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, I got it. What are you gonna do now?"

"I have some candidates for the first brigade I have to visit."

…

The Military Police barracks were comparable to hotels in construction, and while not as luxurious as any of the places in the innermost wall, they were certainly far cleaner and well maintained than any other barracks within the walled enclaves of humanity.

Sannes approached one of the officers by the door and identified himself.

The older man nodded and said "Yeah, Ian… kid's usually in his room, training himself; second floor, fifth room on the left."

Sannes nodded and found the door with relative ease.

He knocked and a young man quickly opened it.

"Ian Kline, yes?"

"Yes sir." The young man replied.

"Djel Sannes, I'm with the First Brigade of the Military Police."

The young man straightened, looking unsure of what to say.

Sannes walked past him into the room.

It was as bare bones as it could be; the bed appeared to have been transformed into some kind of rig where the young man could do a variety of exercises.

"You train a lot, yes?"

"Yes sir."

"…do you know why I'm here?"

The young man shook his head.

"When the Americans first got to the capital, you were the only one who walked up and confronted them when the order to arrest Ilse Langnar was given."

Ian frowned.

"…then you pushed one of the more… aggressive soldiers with relative ease. Honestly, out of everyone in your unit, you were the only one ready to fight them."

Ian said "It was a mistake… the king never gave the order. I should have been more-"

"Silence, private, you will speak when spoken to.." the older man ordered.

Ian went quiet.

"Now, Ian, if I told you that the Americans wished to depose our king, what would you do?"

"I would fight them off, sir."

"Even if they have better weapons? Even if you would most likely not last a few seconds against them?"

"They can't just come in here and boss us around! Our king has been taking care of us since the beginning, and now they come here and because they have better weapons we're supposed to bow to them?! With all due respect sir, I would rather die!"

"…when asked why you wanted to joining the Military Police, what was your reason?"

"To ensure the laws established by the king were followed no matter what the circumstances are."

Sannes grinned.

"Ian, the king needs you."

The young man raised an eyebrow.

"What you want to do is not the job of the First Brigade, and you are to be part of a new unit that is to train to defend the king should the time come when these Americans show their true colors. What do you say?"

The young man smiled with excitement, saying "I'm at the service of the king, sir."

...

Lietenant Troy glanced at the men the Army Chinook was air lifting to the district of Shiganshina.

They were chatting amongst themselves, seemingly excited, some were sleeping, and some looked confused.

Probably because the men chattering were doing so in a language most of his men didn't understand.

"Karera wa watashitachi ni jikan o kakete shiharatte iru to kiite imasu"

"Hontōni? Omotta-"

"Īe, hontōni! Amerikahito to watashitachi no jōshi wa watashitachi o tasukete kuremasu..."

_Jesus Christ, say it in English!_

Troy and his men remained silent despite their interest in asking what the Japanese were saying.

"Oi! Watashi wa sore o miru koto ga dekimasu! Kabe ga mieru!"

"Sugoi…"

_Okay, that I understand…_

"We touch down in ten, Lieutenant." The pilot's voice came into his speaker.

"Lieutenant, have the Germans made any progress on the reconstruction of the main fort in the district?" one of the Japanese engineers asked in perfectly fluent English.

"I think we were settling on tearing it down. Why?"

"Because, I was looking at some of the schematics, and I believe it would prove far more useful to convert the surrounding area into the barracks and use the old castle as a holding facility for munitions as well as other things…"

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to argue about that with them. We only just finished clearing out the bodies from the entrance to the town square, there's still a lot of work to do. Plus, we have to kep in mind that we'll be using this district both to train the new military as well as a jumping off point for the Survey Corps to begin its operations again."

"I thought the Survey Corps _was_ the new army."

"That assertion would _not_ be accurate, sir."

The Chinook flew just above the wall and moved closer to a clearing where houses had once stood, but now only existed as rubble.

There were several men working around that entrance, rebuilding the gate.

Troy noticed that it was mostly Scouts, taking advantage of their ODM gear to work in places most people would require a crane to reach.

Troy heard one of the Japanese engineers mumble "Supaidāman no yōna…" as the y stepped out of the helicopters.

"Okay, seriously, guys… _English_… literally the universal language here…"

"Ah, gib ihnen eine Pause. Es ist nicht so, als würden wir nicht in unserer Muttersprache mit ihnen kommunizieren. " a German worker laughed as he carried some electrical equipment to a nearby tent.

_God..._

"Whatever, you and your guys will sleep by those tents, so far the city is clear of titans but we would feel better if no one strayed too far off in the district, if you need anything give me a call I will most likely be over by that prefab building over there… any questions?" Troy asked.

"What happens if the giants try to attack us here?"

Troy pointed to the sky.

The man turned and saw four Marine Super Cobra attack helicopters flying slowly around the outer perimeter of the wall.

"Be it the Colossal, the armored or whatever, we have those guys looking out for us as well as the scouts over here. Even if there's an emergency, the Chinooks are on standby to evacuate, and we're expecting some Marine tankers to join us soon. Remember, safety is a priority for all of us here."

"Yes, sir."

Troy nodded and watched the men move to the tents in order to get settled in.

The second gate was being worked on and progress was going along smoothly, the nations that were giving support to the US in helping this other world were arriving, which would certainly speed up the progress as well as strengthen American relations with its allies.

Things were looking good.

_Too good._

...

Dave and Jake carried a box of munitions to the back of the Humvee while Matt cleaned the MK-19. A somewhat curious Ilse wrote in her journal as she eyed the soldiers do the same thing the Marines to their immediate right were doing.

The back of the Humvee shut close and Dave popped a piece of gum into his open mouth, staying silent for a second before speaking up with a rather obnoxious southern accent.

"Gentlemne, I am private Dave Emin of the United States Army and I;m putting together a special team… and I need me-"

"Dave, stop quoting Brad Pitt before I make you drink Army grade CLP"

Dave stopped, thought it over and continued with "And I need me two soldiers. Two retarded-American soldiers, now ya'll probably-"

Dave was immediately silenced by a metal object slamming into him.

"OW! Dude!"

"That's for disrespecting Lieutenant Aldo Raine!" Jake replied as he picked up the wrench that had bounced off Dave's Kevlar.

"Disrespect? I hated that movie…" Matt mumbled.

"What movie?" Ilse asked.

"One with Brad Pitt being crazy army lieutenant and heading to Europe to kill a bunch of Nazis just cause."

"Wait, I thought you liked it." Jake replied placing the wrench back inside the Humvee.

"Naw, I liked his _other_ movie where he goes crazy and kills a bunch of Nazis."

Ilse blinked before asking "There's two?"

"Yeah, but there's like… a poetic justice in _Inglorious Basterds_ that _Fury_ doesn't have, man. Like, he;s using Jewish Americans to kill the people slaughtering Jews in France." Jake replied.

"Not to mention that _Fury_ is full of Hollywood tactics. Who charges at three tanks when you're already in concealment?" Kane said walking over.

"Yeah, but less so than the other one… look, I'm al for indiscriminate violence, but my great grandpa didn't like a movie made post war that was so… look, he hated it, so I hate it. ain't nothing complicated about it."

The men noted that Ilse had simply gone back to scribbling on her notebook and raised an eyebrow.

The girl noticed and said "No, no, keep talking, I;m sure the publishers will _love _reading how Americans talk in their off time."

Dave scoffed, saying "Nobody can write that fast, Ilse."

She simply stared at him, as if asking _are_ _you willing to bet on that?_

"Right… So, Kane, you guys ready?"

"Yeah, the convoys should be almost done loading up the supplies. All we have to wait for now is Captain Shorty and his merry band."

"You're still mad he ordered you guys around?" Ilse asked.

"That would be unprofessional of me, but I will say that this little amalgamation of units is showing a lack of thought being given by our commanding officers as the chain of command between us is kind of messed up."

Matt thought about it and shrugged before saying "Not really, radio calls from our own captains are a thing, so coms are up and running. Even if we were cut off Levi only technically outranks us, and if we know something he doesn't, we're allowed to pretty much tell him off. "

"Yeah, the flexibility of the US military… anyway, shouldn't they be here by bow?" Kane said, noticing the supply trucks starting up.

Before they could radio for the captain, Dave saw them coming up on a hill, riding on horseback.

"Oh, there they… what the hell?" he sighed.

With the exception of Petra, every scout carried a single civilian that was dressed with some identifiable vest.

_The egg heads…_

Hanji hopped off her own horse as doctor Hermann did the same, saying "Been years since I rode one of these…"

"Uh, Captain… this the scientific team?" Matt asked.

The captain simply nodded.

"Fewer than I thought…" Matt mumbled.

"Oh, we're the biologists. Geologists, anthropologists… yeah, they came here last week." One of them said.

A collective "oh" came from the soldiers.

"Right, well hop in the MRAP, we're on time and we don't want to keep our guys waitning." Kane said as he moved to the armored vehicle.

Most of the biologists followed, though Hermann turned to Hanji to ask "Miss Zoe, I do have to ask if your horses can keep up with the vehicles?"

"They're bred to run at a top speed of 75 kilometers per hour!" she exclaimed.

The German noted the use of Kilometers and grinned "Interesting!"

"Oh, right, you other worlders use some other system… I think I read that-"

"No, no, my home country uses that same metric to measure speed. I just find it interesting… anyway, I'll see you at the destination then?"

"Yes, doctor! Hey, Jackson, how-"

The soldier was already in the Humvee, pretending to look busy.

The scientist narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything.

Levi moved the radio the Americans had provided and made sure it was set to the right frequency.

"Radio check, how do you hear me?" he asked.

"Ten by ten, how do you copy?" Kane replied.

"Well enough…"

_Need to learn their code…_

"Whoa, Captain, look!" Petra chimed as she pointed to their right.

Two metal birds flew low and steady as they headed westward.

"Marine Harrier Jump Jets! They're what the Marines use for air support along the helicopters."

"So… they're fighter jets?"

"Essentially, though they mostly work for Ground Attack runs now. Anyway, convoy's heading out. Should we catch up to them or do you guys want to wait a while more?" Kane asked as he pointed to the small convoy of supply trucks moving away from Hill Zero One.

Levi didn't reply as he moved his horse forward, though his squad promptly shot the Marine afew irritate looks.

"Gotta say, even if their horses can kind of keep up with us, we should really start bringing cars they can use…" Matt mumbled.

"We don't really have the industrial base to maintain cars, let alone military vehicles, though I see your point." Ilse replied.

Matt nodded and glanced at his M4, ensuring it was firmly in place by the armor plates around him.

The loud sound of a somewhat calming guitar on the speakers of one of the supply trucks broke his concentration as a loud, but familiar tune began to blare across the field.

"Oh great, what is _that?!_" Oluo demanded as he worried the noise would attract titans.

"American Music… just relax and enjoy it, it'll keep titans from their main base and flush them out if they're hidden." Levi replied over the noise.

"Huh? Wouldn't the enemy just be attracted to our presence?" Eld called from behind.

"The music is like an early alert for them to start moving to us and out of whatever hiding spot they may have. It's something that I would call counter intuitive if we didn't have their firepower, but since we do…"

"Ah, like moths to a flame…" Oluo mumbled in understanding, surprised at how oddly calming the song was.

Matt breathed "God, that's old…"

"I kind of like it." Ilse replied.

"It's a bit of a drive, guys. Get used to whatever playlist the guy with the speakers over there has…" Jake called.

To the chagrin of some, and the enjoyment of others, the tune of _Everybody Wants to Rule the World _accompanied the odd convoy as it pushed into the titan infested land.

* * *

**A/N: Shorter chapter, but since classes started up my time management has been kind of all over the place. Anyway, I kind of wanted to show a bit more of the political point of view, show what NATO is doing, and maybe clarify a few things… I don't know, this chapter feels more like an extra than an actual chapter that advances the story. I do plan on moving things along next chapter as we get to one of the points of this story that I am most excited for. **

**That aside, I felt like I needed to show how other groups on our side of the gate would be acting at this point, especially with the US only kind of letting allies through and no one else. I don't want to demonize any one nation or group (and if it felt like I did, please let me know) but I just don't see certain countries not protesting at all at the UN that the US is basically sitting on a pile of resources that it only intends on sharing with its allies. Just felt like it would be a bit realistic to add that scene while we add tension with the King and his advisory and US forces helping clear the titans. **

**Also Ian is an OC, since I didn't find any MP characters alive at this point in the story that resembled the personality needed for a character that would just walk up to a US Marine and actively try to antagonize them. I legitimately considered Floch Forster for a bit, until I realized that he wasn't even **_**with**_** the MPs, so I figured an OC to embody the attitude of the more extreme segments of the Military Police would work better. Let me know if it isn't working for you, though, cause characters like Sannes and the First Brigade are pretty much the same.**

**That said, reviews are always much appreciated. I love all the feedback you guys have been giving me since chapter 1 went up, so if anything feels off please let me know. I hope to have the next chapter up soon.**

**Finally, while I don't do these that much, (I prefer to respond to reviews personally through PMs) some guest reviews have asked some legitimate questions, so I will try to answer them as best I can. **

**Guest- Which aot arc this story currently in again?**

**Story is taking place around the same time the 104****th**** are still in training, but if you saw the OVA, chapter 2 concludes just after the thieves tried to kidnap Christa during a training exercise. By the next chapter we will be entering (timeline wise at least) the same time that the Battle for Trust started.**

**Halo- Could Mikasa meet an Asian American Soldier?**

**Not soldiers, but since the plan is to send the 104****th**** to Shiganshina once it's mostly rebuilt in order to formally begin training them with modern weapons, she will most likely encounter the Japanese engineers working there. I do want to show some more interactions between the worlds before things **_**really **_**heat up.**

**Thank you all so much for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**First Twilight**

* * *

She had grown to hate the early morning light as it was basically a call to pull back.

Ilse followed the few scouts escorting her away from the dissipating carcasses of slain titans, the creature's faces frozen in what could come off as sadistic ecstasy, as if they had been more than happy to die.

Killing titans at night turned out to be an excellent decision as the American forces had lent them night vision equipment that allowed them to hunt the enemy in almost total darkness, and as titans acting in the middle of the night were becoming increasingly rare, the Survey Corps found itself taking advantage of night operations both to search and destroy titans as well as study them as much as possible up close.

Plus, it saved vital ammunition.

"How many kills?" Eld asked as the rising sun behind them was met with the eerie sound of the few not dead titans awakening.

"I guess five assuming that lost one got back up just now…" Gunther replied calmly as he hopped down from a roof onto the empty street.

"Three, team effort." Ilse replied glancing at Petra and Oluo who nodded.

"I only got one." Eld sighed.

"Well, there aren't that many left around here. It's a miracle we got to this spot before anyone else, even for the front lines."

"Yeah, I-"

They all stopped as the figure of Captain Levi soon appeared in front of them, hopping down from a tree alongside Hanji and that poor subordinate she dragged around everywhere.

"How many?" he asked, removing his NVGs.

"Nine, but that's assuming the last one I got managed to survive."

Levi gave a questioning glance as several other scouts moved away from the now soon to be dangerous town.

"Orders to pull back came before I could make sure it was dead, not sure if the smoke came from it dying or healing."

The captain nodded, remembering that the rules of engagement made it a point of keeping the soldiers alive. Even if night ops were beneficial and saved ammo, pulling back once the sun was beginning to rise was crucial in order to avoid casualties.

"Understood, so that leaves three alive if the American scouts were right… given the early risers, I say they missed one."

Two fifteen meter and two ten meter giants were standing just above the homes in what had once been a small town, searching for their prey.

Hanji grinned, prompting Ilse to ask "Uh… is-?"

The somewhat muffled _WHOMP _of a chain gun firing off in the distance stopped her question as she whirled around to stare at the reddish rounds slam into the face of one of the 15 meter titans.

She was somewhat confused until Kane's MRAP drove up.

"Oh, it's another field experiment…" Petra stated what everyone had already figured out.

Doctor Hermann hoped off with a pair of binoculars, observing the monster as its entire head simply crumbled after several shots from the 25 millimeter gun. The M2 Bradley IFV wasn't exactly America's most versatile or powerful vehicle in the Army's arsenal.

The armor wasn't all that great, it really couldn't transport that many troops, and to the annoyance of just about every one of its drivers, the damned thing didn't have any air conditioning.

It had served its purpose well enough during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, even surviving hits some Marine LAV-25s hadn't managed to recover from, but its survivability in urban environments during the War on Terror made it so that it was replaced with other armored vehicles like the MRAP.

The truth was that despite more than six thousands of them built and an ability to work well with M1 tanks, many knew that it wasn't the best suited for modern conflict.

Faced up against titans, however, it was a very different story.

The 25 millimeter M242 Bushmaster chain gun was a killer even for the 15 meter tall monstrosities as evidenced by the headless beast staggering about.

Its TOW missile system was just as effective as a sabot or HEAT round from a tank.

The titan continued to flail around, still standing, still moving, still alive, and still deadly.

"Ah, the damn things are…" he mumbled viewing the disturbing spectacle in the distance, writing down a note of the headless creature.

"Yes, fascinating but deadly little monsters, eh?" Hanji replied happily.

"Cockroaches..." the doctor mumbled.

"Huh?"

The doctor didn't reply as Kane called "Hey, captain! Commander Erwin is on the line for you."

Levi nodded and moved past the scientists.

"Are we heading back?" Hermann called.

Kane said "Well, most of the habitats and bunkers are done; I guess the giant cages should be here later today too, so I think we'll be heading back sooner rather than later."

Hanji beamed at that, saying "To think, just one month ago finding anything out about the titans was considered a fever dream!"

"It's really been a month, huh?" Ilse mumbled, glancing at the early morning sun in the sky as the Bradley IFV fired an anti-tank missile, easily putting the shambling giant out of its misery from 3,000 meters away.

…

The spyglass scanned the land in the horizon just as someone said "Hey, Hannes, you see anything?"

"Nope! Not a damned titan in sight… who'd have thought we'd see the day." The tired soldier said as he surveyed the land from his position atop the wall.

Another soldier, a rose insignia identified him as a member of the garrison, glanced at the bustling district behind him as loud bells announced the arrival of the sun to those that had failed to notice.

"Don't see why they decided to head out in the early morning hours. It would be safer at night if any of them are still around."

"Yeah, but you can't get much morale boost under the cover of darkness. Everyone is eager to see the famous 104th."

_The first regiment of human soldiers to specifically train to begin taking the lands beyond Wall Maria back._

"That isn't wrong… hey; your kids are part of that division, right?"

"Not my kids, Hugo."

The other soldier scoffed, saying "Yeah, yeah, if you want to go send them off, I can cover for you here."

Hannes stopped and glanced at his friend.

"You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure! We have more guys up here now, so if that giant, skinless bastard tries anything…"

He tapped one of the old cannons positioned on the walls specifically to counter the Colossal Titan. They didn't compare to anything the new players were bringing in, but it was effective in its own right.

"Thanks, Hugo." Hannes said, running off.

The other man waved him away, glancing at the early morning sky.

"It's almost been five years, huh?"

…

Hannes hopped on a roof to get a better look at the bizarre mix of soldiers.

The barely out of training 104th was in the familiar garrison uniform moving amongst themselves in the cleared street, waiting for the order to move out in the horseless carriages the Americans had brought through.

_Speaking of bizarre…_

Some of the American soldiers milling about had green berets which were strange considering all the others either had a (albeit just as bizarre) helmet or a simple cap.

_Odd…_

He put his curiosity aside as he noticed a smudge of golden hair amidst the groups of cadets.

"Hey, Armin?" he asked aloud, hopping down from the roof, the civilian crowd stepping out of his way as he moved to the younger soldiers. Crowds usually kept their distance whenever the military moved around, but today they were particularly obedient, as everyone could see the intimidating black rifles the people from somewhere else carried with them.

Something about those made them even more intimidating than regular muskets, but Hannes didn't really care too much about it.

It wasn't like they were being pointed at anyone there.

He had been the one to care for the Shiganshina trio after their families died in the titan incursion half a decade prior.

He walked over to the almost glowing head of yellow hair only for someone to slam into him.

"Hey, hey, hold on there, friend! Who do you think you're approaching?"

It was one of the cadets.

She was grinning at him with some degree of confidence, but also hostility. Despite her thin frame, something about her gray eyes screamed "back off" in the same way he had seen an animal protecting its offspring.

"Relax, Cadet, I just want to talk private Arlert- oh…"

The yellow haired cadet had turned to look at him and Hannes realized that there was no way this was Armin.

The blonde haired girl smiled politely before noting the glare in the other girl's eyes and immediately sighing in disappointment.

"Ymir, you don't have to be so rude. Sorry for my friend, sir. Are you looking for Armin Arlert?"

"Yes, actually; sorry but- the hair… and height..."

"No, it's alright. He's a little ways down the street. Sorry for my friend here."

The dark haired girl named Ymir looked at the blonde in what appeared to be disbelief.

"Ah, thank you private… uh..."

The girl smiled again, saying "Private Christa Lenz, sir."

"Ah, I see. My friends call me Hannes, and-"

"Yeah, good to know, now scram! Your friend is down the road." The dark haired girl interrupted.

"Ah, yes… go beat those monsters back, private Lenz! We're all counting on you!"

The girl simply returned an awkward smile before turning to her friend.

All Hannes heard as he ran off was something along the lines of "What? He was obviously slobbering at the thought of you-"

The man held in a sigh.

Pretty as the golden haired private was, she was clearly too young for his taste.

He moved quickly through the crowd of young soldiers, noticing the excitement amongst all of them.

"What do you think we'll see out there?"

"I don't know, but I am _really _interested in Shiganshina. I hear the Americans were fixing it up like one of _their_ bases."

"Armin?"

The youth was standing alongside the other two children he had cared for during those uncertain years after the outer wall fell.

"Hannes!" The soft spoken teen said with some excitement.

"It's good to see you." the stoic girl honestly; an ever so subtle smile on her face.

He stood there, noting how much they had visibly grown in the last few years, but he also noted something he hadn't seen in a long time.

Their eyes seem to have a small spark of hope again.

"Hey, Hannes? Hannes… Hey, you haven't been drinking again, right?" the far more serious Yeager said with a tinge of impatience.

_Well, at least some things don't change._

"Who's that?" a friendly looking yellow haired man who seemed to be in peak physical condition asked.

"Hannes took care of us after the fall of Wall Maria. Come to see us off?" Armin said.

The older man snapped out of his trance and grinned.

"Yeah, I sort of expected you pipsqueaks to need some kind of pep talk before you head out into titan territory, but it seems you all have an overwhelming air of confidence. Send some of that my way, why don't you?"

All three of the youths seemed to have grown out of the weak children he had looked after just a few years prior.

Mikasa seemed more alive.

Armin seemed to be more talkative than the quiet child he had seen last.

_And Eren… _

"You've… certainly grown up. All of you…"

"We're going to start retaking the lands beyond the walls someday soon… I guess our goals are that much clearer now and we have to be ready to handle that responsibility, and we can't be weak about it. I know that much now."

Hannes was about to say something when a man started shouting orders, and a loud whistle rang out in the street.

"That the call to move out, huh?"

The Shiganshina trio nodded as the rest of their unit moved to the horseless carriages nearby.

"I…"

He threw his arms around the three of them, simply saying "Take care."

Once he let them go, Eren replied "Yeah, save something special for when we beat the titans back!"

The older man nodded and waved them away.

_Don't die…_

…

General Connor placed the strap with the brightly colored star spangled banner on his desk as he sat down.

_Makes me feel like a target…_

In truth, the United States Marines didn't use the typical red white and blue flag patches anymore, adapting to the battlefield by camouflaging the flag into the uniform.

However, whenever he went to the meetings inside the innermost wall, he needed something to identify him amongst the other military commanders whenever they visited the innermost wall together.

_That _was a fun meeting…

Standing around a bunch of rich men that wanted to discuss what one company could do cheaper than another company, who would buy what, what country could provide it cheaper, what company would do it better and where would said company install their base of operations within this world.

If Commander Pyxis and Premiere Zachary hadn't drunk most of the booze, Connor would have certainly forgotten to stay sober within the innermost wall.

The same place the incompetent Military Police kept eyeing outsiders as if they were aliens.

_Something that was certainly annoying when none of them could be armed…_

And again, having Old Glory big bright and visible on his arm was just asking to get accidentally shot if one of the idiots with the muskets got too aggressive.

A quagmire that was thankfully avoided.

_Damn it, why can't I just stick with the grey colors? With the exception of some light presence from the NATO countries, this is entirely an American expedition._

Connor sighed, glancing at the top report on his desk.

Scratch that…

_Technically_, it was a multinational effort.

Both the Survey Corps and the scientific team assigned to study the titans had requested underground facilities be built, as well as cages to carry said beasts into their containment cells.

Most of the manpower to build the bunkers and underground facilities had been US troops, as well as a lot of the equipment being used came from a variety of US based companies.

That said, it had been a certain German construction company that had provided a lot of the refined materials needed to construct a single cage strong enough to hold a giant exceeding the size of a house.

Said steel had to be transported, and it had been a Greek company that had provided freighters to transport it straight to the cargo ports in New York Harbor.

And that was just some of the construction material.

Japan had offered engineers to focus on transforming parts of the Shiganshina district into a fully equipped modern military base, both to accommodate the teenaged soldiers as well as the military forces that would be stationed there, both American and Survey Corps.

It cut American engineers some slack as they analyzed other districts within the walls as they made plans to modernize.

American made solar panels helped power many of the facilities both areas required in order to function properly and US electric companies would eventually be responsible for bringing electricity to the local population within the walls, but it had been an American based South Korean company that had provided energy efficient computers that could be used in both Hill Zero One and the newly built base at Shiganshina.

And of course, then there were the materials needed to build said computers… among other things.

Many of the important components were delivered on Indonesian freighters that had dropped them off in California only to have them finish the trip to New York on a military cargo planes and trucks that used fuel provided by Saudi Arabia.

So on and so forth, the list of allies involved directly and indirectly in the American certainly made this mission a multi-national endeavor.

The list of involved nations would grow further if one sat down to study all the intricate details of the modern interconnected world.

The only difference here was that the US had made a point of only accepting material and personnel across the gate if it was from an ally or made in the US.

To say certain nations were angry would be an understatement.

He recalled the vocal protests at the UN just a week prior…

_How __**dare **__Japan send men and material to a country that utilizes __**child soldiers?!**_

_Germany needs to use its status on the world stage to condemn such actions! Have they learned nothing from their history?! _

_If the United States has the technology to wipe out the hostile creatures across the gate, why are we hearing of a program to train some of their soldiers- which, need I remind you, many are below eighteen years of age!_

_NATO should condemn any further military forces entering the other world, or else we could face a new age of western imperialism and genocide._

_We at the United Nations Human Rights council request all nations cease supporting the establishing of American military forces until we can secure communications with the governments within the walled society; only then can we be certain the US isn't taking advantage of the lands beyond the gate._

Of course, NATO observers as well as Army officials had made it a point that the US military assets present were focusing on destroying the titan threat and training allied forces in the art of modern warfare as part of a mutually beneficial agreement.

A certain French politician had even gone as far to point out that the average age of military conscripts was just as young in some of the UN members that were formally protesting.

Of course, this didn't stop the arguments in the international stage.

On the one hand, it wasn't exactly great for international relations to have one corner of the planet glaring at another corner.

On the other hand, it really didn't matter one bit what any of the relatively small nations thought.

Unless China or Russia was willing to risk going to war over access to the other world, nothing would change, and the protesting nations knew it.

Connor was actually glad the two larger nations had been relatively silent on the whole situation, if not a little reluctant to speak about it publicly, seemingly satisfied with observing from afar to see how things played out.

Whether that was good or bad had yet to be seen, but the US had its allies, and even if full access simply wasn't possible at the moment for them, it wasn't like they were actively blocking other nations from coming through or sending observers.

_Unlike a certain puppet ruler… or figurehead… or whatever the hell you are, Fritz._

He pushed the report on the international situation aside, taking note the warning from a certain representative.

"Avoid hostilities with the monarchy and the advisory as long as possible. The eyes of the world are upon _all_ of us."

_Yeah, so I have to go and ignore all of this until further notice._

He began to read the other report on his desk.

It was thankfully shorter.

"Military Police are notably divided down the middle… interesting." He mumbled as he read the report.

_Two factions Identified as of yet: _

_Faction A: Military Police members who are in the military for personal gain. Of note, they allow crimes to go on as they can be easily bribed. _

_Faction B: no notable cases witnessed, but rumors refer to them as the Interior Police. Attempts at gaining information have proved challenging as little concrete information appears to exist. Currently investigating rumors, but all evidence suggests they are real and capable of compromising operations should cover be blown._

_Priority has been given to investigating Faction B._

General Connor frowned.

First the reluctance to ask for help from a technologically superior force out of fear of changing their way of life.

_Somewhat understandable, though a bit strange..._

Then the evidence that the monarchy had committed genocide at least once in its short history.

_Worrisome especially when they say that humanity is apparently on the brink of extinction._

Now a _secret police force_ that operates from the shadows?

He grabbed a sticky note and a pen.

_Be mindful of all Military Police forces, we may need to disregard the rule of not bringing our weapons into the capital._

If this report was wrong or just an exaggeration, then nothing would come of it… but if it was as bad as it seemed to be…

_Hope for the best, plan for the worst._

A knock on his door caught his attention.

"General, the reporters are here for an interview."

"Oh, thank Christ. Bring them in."

For once, he was glad the press had arrived in the field.

…

"Whoa! Hey Armin what kind of flying machines are those?!" Connie half yelled as a pair of Harrier jump jets flew not too far from the hills behind the convoy.

"I think they're called Harriers. It's hard to tell from here."

So far the 104th had seen very little of the US presence as they travelled the relatively flat lands of Wall Maria.

"I don't care, look at those things! Wings like that could probably annihilate entire titan hordes just by flying into them!" an excited Thomas said rather loudly.

"Hell Yeah! Decapitated titan heads all around!"

"I don't think that would work… from what I read aircraft need a light metal in order to fly, so simply flying into a horde-"

"Come on, man, don't be a buzz kill."

Eren stared at the jets with some melancholy.

He doubted he could learn how to fly one.

_Probably too complicated …_

He then noticed that one of his comrades seemed kind of nervous.

He was about to say something to Bertholdt when Reiner spoke up.

"So, Yeager… how's it feel going back home?"

Eren blinked before shrugging.

"I guess I'm glad. I hear we'll use it as a base to push the titans back, so I guess there is some kind of… poetic justice to it."

"You think they fixed up the whole place?"

Eren shrugged.

"It was pretty badly damaged when it happened, but if they stick to the center, or on one specific area, I guess it could look better than it is. Of course, it's always possible the Americans have some tricks up their sleeves."

"That's what I want to hear, kid!"

Mikasa watched the older teenager.

Something about the way Reiner talked felt oddly forced.

She remembered the pair had experienced the titan invasion first hadn as they lived in the mountains and never got the news in time.

Was he putting on a strong front for them?

She felt some pity for her comrade.

She was sitting closest to the main cabin of the vehicle, where the driver was visible through the small window.

"This is Mother Goose, how we looking?" one of the men called into the box she recognized as the radio.

Immediately a voice cracked back, saying "Mother Goose, you are cleared for the remaining fifteen miles, be advised, cavalry will escort you the rest of the way."

"Cavalry?" she mumbled silently, only for Eren to suddenly speak up.

"What's up, Mikasa?"

"Oh, I overheard them say that a cavalry unit will escort us the rest of the way, but, I don't know if it will be American or-"

"It's going to be one of ours, miss. You guys see the tanks in the books?" the driver said, leaning in through the small window.

The cadets nodded.

"Then you're gonna want to see this."

The teens blinked, and almost as a single unit, promptly moved to the back of the truck, almost pushing Connie off the edge.

It was just open field behind them.

The cadets waited for a minute never hearing anything other than the sound of the truck's engine.

"Left, on the left. Six o clock, guys." the American called.

They turned and saw them.

Green mechanized vehicles.

American armor.

"Whoa…" someone said.

"M1 A2 Abrams. The Army brought them in during the first push a month ago." the driver called.

"Man, a gun like that… I bet the armored titan doesn't stand a chance!" Reiner said.

"Why bother with a tank when an aircraft might do the same?"

"Really?"

"The aircraft the Americans brought over are used to attack ground targets just like those tanks. Only difference is one does it from the ground, the other from the air."

Eren stared at the boxy vehicles following them.

_Titan-killers…_

He was looking at the spearhead of the reclaiming efforts.

A cruel smile manifested itself on the teenager.

Reiner noticed and said "Hey, man, everything okay?"

"Yeah, I guess it really hit me, even though I knew all along."

"What's that?"

"The titans are truly finished."

Everyone agreed.

No one noticed the look of terror in the eyes of three of the cadets.

…

Shadis noticed that the newly constructed outer gate had several painting on it, though what those were supposed to be confounded him. He recognized the flag of the Survey Corps as well as the flag of the Americans, but the others…

Colonel Parker simply pointed and said "Germany, Japan, United States, Survey Corps; basically the national flags of the people that directly worked on fixing Shiganshina."

"Ah, I see. Isn't Japan…?"

"Yeah, part of the orient."

"Do the people of your world know about…?"

"Yeah, but what it means is still being debated. Most people are worried about what _we _do here now that the titans within Wall Maria are almost gone."

"I see. What about capture operations?"

"Starting up pretty soon." he replied happily.

The older man nodded.

He took a breath and shouted "Alright, 104th _**fall in**_!"

It took a few seconds but the trained soldiers arrived and formed in record time much to their disdain, none of them got an immediate chance to look around much once inside and would have to wait if they wanted to see the otherworldly elements of the mostly rebuilt Shiganshina District.

Shadis glanced at Connor, who simply said "Right, I know you're all curious and want to start seeing what's new and what our world has to offer, but first things first! All of you are to report to the buildings behind me. Remember, red crosses are how we identify medicine and medics. Each of you will report to the large building with a red cross and receive a number of vaccines as well as give a blood sample. Now, you will all be vaccinated against..."

He began to read the list of illnesses and Eren heard some muttering behind him.

"Vaccines? Disease? I should have just… Damn it, damn it, damn-"

"Jean, _shut up_!" a girl hissed.

"Don't tell me what to-"

"Alright, fall out and follow lieutenant Troy over there. I expect you to be organized."

Eren slowed his pace and "accidentally" stepped on Jean's left foot as he moved past him. The teenager stopped and pointed at him in frustration.

"Ah! Damn it, Yeager! I am in no mood for-"

"Private Kirschtean, move your ass!" Lieutenant Troy ordered as he walked past the teen.

The frustrated teenager could only grind his teeth at the innocent look his comrade gave him.

"Damn you…"

All he wanted was to join the Military Police, yet somehow he had allowed himself to get washed away with the rest of the 104th and was now on the front lines of the war!

_I should have quit then._

_I should've quit when Yeager somehow managed to maintain the attention of the most beautiful girl in the regiment!_

_I should've quit the second the most beautiful girl in the regiment actively chose to keep up with Yeager and ignore any kind words he sent her way that first day- I mean what normal person __**does**__ that?!_

_Never mind that, Jean! Just focus on getting through-_ _What the hell is everyone staring at? _

He had stepped inside the infirmary only to find everyone looking at… something he couldn't quite catch.

"Marco? Hey, Marco!" he whispered to the fuzzy head of dark hair in front of him.

The freckled teen turned with a questioning glance.

"What's going on?"

He simply stepped aside, letting him see.

First he heard the humming.

He didn't recognize the song.

But he didn't need to recognize music in order to recognize an angelic voice.

He saw the woman place a box of… something on the counter she was standing behind.

She was gorgeous.

Her skin seemed perfect, her hair, even tied in a bun like that, seemed to be a straight and naturally flowing light brown. Despite wearing the odd uniform of the American Army, she somehow managed to make it look attractive as it failed to completely hide her curves.

She looked young, but also mature.

_Certainly older than any of them..._

"Well anyway, allow me to introduce myself! I'm battalion Nurse, Karina Joy, my staff and I will be taking some of your blood as well as injecting mysterious fluids into your bloodstream that nobody on this side of the gate really understands." she said in a joking tone.

It was Yeager, of course, that had to ruin the melodious sound of her voice for everyone by suddenly saying "Excuse me, but what was that about mysterious chemicals and injections?"

The nurse laughed.

"Vaccines, private, I don't mean to worry you. See, we have found a way to prevent diseases by injecting-"

"E-excuse me…"

All the boys once more turned to Yeager who had almost childishly raised his hand, interrupting the battalion nurse.

Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow and asked "Yes?"

"Do those have side effects?"

The battalion nurse smiled and said "None at all aside from some soreness and maybe some swelling where we administer the injection. They're quite harmless."

"So… it won't make me forget things?"

Again, everyone turned to stare at the teenager, now more than a little concerned.

_Huh… maybe Yaeger really __**was **__a medical experiment…_

"Did… somebody give you an injection before that caused you to forget stuff?" Reiner asked.

"Sort of, a little after the wall fell, I kind of remember my dad injecting me with something and then blacking out. Don't remember anything after that."

Nurse Joy blinked, saying "Your father had a syringe like this one?"

She showed them an incredibly tiny plastic tube.

The teen shook his head.

"I remember that it was bigger and… metallic…my dad is… was… a doctor, so it could have been something he was testing."

The nurse blinked once again before saying "Well, no… it shouldn't make you black out or forget anything. Certain medications and drugs can have such a side effect, or worse if it turns out you are allergic to it… in fact, the first thing you all need to do after this is provide a blood sample to make sure none of you are allergic to our medicines."

"Uh, Nurse J-" Connie began before the nurse cut him off.

"Please, call me Karina. I-"

"Oh, no! Fraternizing with the cadets is strictly forbidden, Nurse Joy. You will each refer to her by her title." Troy said loudly, appearing almost out of nowhere.

Karina simply smiled and nodded.

"Good call, Lieutenant… now, mister… Springer?"

"Ah! Yes, sorry, but… how will you take our blood without… wounding us?"

"Oh, well have a seat! Let me demonstrate!"

…

With the service concluded for the day, Pastor Nick was more than happy to see his growing congregation head out with satisfied looks on their faces.

His church had been growing since news of the reclaiming of Wall Maria came a little over a month ago, and he was glad to see so many accepting and pledging their servitude to the goddesses.

Today was different, though.

He sighed as he saw the short woman, kneeling by the altar, and dirty cloak covering her features as she seemed to be praying desperately to the statue of the three goddesses.

Normally such display of faith would warm his heart, but he was worried.

There had been whispers of secretive residents, and he was not deaf to them.

"My beloved, I believe you have atoned enough for today. The doors will open once more for the service in the evening, but I'm afraid I must to ask you to…"

He stopped dead in his tracks as he finally heard what the woman was saying.

"_Veritas vos liberabit. Veritas vos liberabit. Veritas vos liberabit. Veritas vos liberatib…_ ever Heard that one, sir?"

The abrupt way she stopped speaking gibberish and made it so that he could understand her startled the pastor.

"That accent… is… are you from the more rural areas in-?"

He stopped, understanding beginning to reach him.

He whirled around in time to see the doors to the church be locked in place by more people in dirty cloaks.

Nick slowly took a step away from the intimidating figures only for the woman to stand up and remove her cloak.

She was certainly short, young as well.

He could have mistaken her for any other girl in the innermost wall, given her short, wavy blonde hair and seemingly expensive dress.

"Aint gonna lie, pastor, all those wall worshippers cough their money up better than the folks back home. And as someone from the Bible-belt, that's saying something!" the woman said, smiling.

For a moment he wondered if she was some con-woman, trying to rob him from whatever fortune his new followers brought him, perhaps one of the dwellers of the underground city.

_But that accent…_

"Now, Veritas vos liberabit… ever heard of that?"

He shook his head before asking "who are you people and what do you want? This is sacred ground and stealing from the goddess will only bring misfortune upon-"

The woman let out a loud, disappointed sigh.

"Well, apparently Latin never developed properly in this reality… whatever. Thought it would sound kinda cool… look, Father Nick, I'm going to skip to the point; you were visited by two MPs recently. They asked you a question, you gave an answer. Do you recall what that was?"

Father Nick stared at the woman for a second; suddenly saying "You're with the Americans! What in the world are you trying to pull?! I thought the-"

"Answer the question, father." One of the men behind him interrupted him.

The man had a recognizable accent, which worried the old man.

_Was this woman a rogue agent?!_

"I don't know what you people are talking about." Nick growled back.

The woman nodded, glanced at the men behind him, and extended a hand.

"What are-?"

One of the men handed her a tiny black box with several buttons on it.

A voice the father recognized came from it.

"_Father Nick…"_

"_Oh, captain Sannes… is everything alright?"_

"_I want to know of the girl."_

"_Of course. My last observer noted that she has formed several friendships with her squad mates, but nothing abnormal to report."_

"How… how did you…?"

The woman shushed him.

"_Excellent… now that the Americans are finally out of the capital I want a list of all their members that arrived into this congregation as well as all other churches. We cannot have any leaks."_

"_I doubt they know anything, but I will ask my fellow followers for assistance."_

The woman pushed a button and the recording stopped.

She smiled sweetly before asking "What information are you afraid of leaking, Pastor Nick?"

The man was speechless.

The American frowned and said "Who's the girl making friends?"

The man said nothing.

"Ma'm, no offense, but time is limited." Another of the cloaked men said.

"Come on, Father Nick, you don't want to keep a girl waiting, do you?"

The man did not reply.

For the first time since making eye contact with the woman, Nick saw her frown.

She groaned, placing the recorder into a pocket and pulling her cloak over her head.

"We _all_ want what's best, Father. But if you aren't going to help us now, then we'll have to drop by again."

Her pale blue eyes turned to look at him as if a predator had found its latest meal.

"If you actually want to help us just give us a call, have a chat, maybe tell us the truth. We'll be watching."

She walked past him and he finally spoke up.

"What did those words mean?"

"Ah?" the woman asked, seemingly with little patience.

"You spoke in a language I didn't understand… what were you saying?"

"Oh, Veritas vos liberabit? It means the truth shall set you free."

"I see…Come back here tonight, right after service is over."

The woman returned a crooked grin that made the older man worry he may have just made a deal with the devil.

…

"Remember that if any of you feel sick or anything don't be shy about dropping by the office!" Karina said, waving the last group of cadets out the door.

"Will do! Thank you Nurse Joy!" the last of the cadets called as he exited the infirmary.

She waited for the door to close.

The door closed and she heard the noise of the cadets dissipate as they moved on.

She slammed her head into the counter and let out a muffled screech that startled on her subordinates.

"N-nurse?" a young man asked.

"Not now, Kyle! God damn Troy! He can't be so dense! He did that on purpose… Oh, _God_, he did it on purpose!"

"I-"

"Do you know how long it took for people to shut up about me being the God damn _Nurse Joy?! _I'm a God damn nurse in the God damn Army, not some pink haired little veterinarian that does…" she stopped, took a breath, and lay back on her chair before saying "Whatever…"

"Sorry, about that. We can't choose our names, right?"

"I'm over it, Kyle. Just drop it… anyway, what do you think of that kid and his father's amnesia syringe?"

"He was probably just looking for attention."

"Do the people here even know about syringes?"

The subordinate stopped with a look of uncertainty.

"Actually, we didn't see any while sending aid in one of the districts. They had liquid medicine; they had bandages, but… I didn't see any syringes."

"Huh… maybe they're just in limited supply or… new. Or the kids made it up…" Karina frowned.

"Kyle, when you get the chance, send a radio call to Hill Zero One and ask them if our closed off friends have ancient syringes. It's probably nothing, but let's cover our bases."

Her subordinate nodded.

…

"Now, this would be the library. We have been working on translating historical material as well as any instructional book that could help you all understand the tactics of modern war. That said, this is our proudest achievement." Troy announced as he lead a large contingency of cadets through the library.

Four Desktop computers had been installed just below some windows in the converted floor of what had once been the Garrison fort, prompting curious stares from the teenagers.

Troy tapped the closest computer and said "We have all sorts of information on these babies, ranging from our own world history, to our modern weapons. You can access these during your free time and keep in mind, the information on here is vital to your growth as a modern army. Now, that concludes the tour of the main building, I will give you a half hour to look around, get yourself acquainted with the area here. After those thirty minutes, everyone meet up right by the entrance so that we can continue your briefing."

He wasn't surprised when every single one of the cadets surrounded the desktops, not one of them certain of how to use them, so they simply stood around eyeing the information on the screen.

Troy winced.

_Where the hell is private Ackerman?_

Mikasa hadn't followed the cadets who were swarming the computer, choosing to follow one of the men nearby who was measuring an entrance that had no doors yet.

The man seemed to feel like he was being watched so he turned and was startled to see the emotionless stare of her eyes.

_An oriental…_

There was an awkward silence before the Japanese man said "You are the… Mikasa Ackerman, yes?"

The girl nodded, asking "And you are from the orient, correct?"

The man smiled awkwardly, nodding before saying "Nihon… Japan."

"I see… how are things over there after the world war?"

"Uh… quite good, actually. Japan is a… how do you say… economic power across the gate. Very peaceful, too. Nara- my home city has many beautiful historical sites. I think there is a book where you can read more, though."

"I see…" the girl had many other questions, but was suddenly silenced when Eren called.

"Mikasa! You have to see this! There's- um…" Yeager was unsure of what to say to the older Japanese engineer.

"Um… you two should probably run along. I do have to finish some measurements, but it was nice to meet you, Mikasa-san, Jā matane."

At the confused stares of the teens, the man simply smiled and said "That's Japanese for see you later."

"Uh… right. See you, later?"

Mikasa simply nodded and the man took his leave.

"Well, did he answer anything?" Eren asked suddenly.

"It seems that people like me really are living prosperous lives over there." Mikasa said quietly.

"That's good." He replied, not sure what to say.

It was certainly odd knowing that they were no longer the last humans remaining on the face of the planet, but Mikasa was probably the last of her race, so to see more was something Eren wasn't sure he could comprehend.

"Did you want to show me something?" her voice snapped him back to the present.

"Oh, right! Armin figured out how to use parts of these gadgets the Americans brought in. it's not only a moving picture of the ocean, but of a warship."

She wasn't sure why the warship was a factor in calling her, but she didn't question it.

Until…

"Hey, Mikasa, should we nickname you _The Battleship_?" Connie said as she approached the group of cadets surrounding the glowing screen.

There was a voice speaking in a language she didn't understand, but by the time she approached the screen to see what the fuss was about, a new voice came that she could understand.

There was a man visible on the screen placing a hand on what appeared to be the back of a cannon.

_A huge cannon…_

The man with an English accent said "_The Mikasa _was equipped with fourteen of these six inch guns, the rate of fire was six rounds per minute, and had a maximum range of nine kilometers. The gun crew consisted of ten men and a gun captain…"

"Oh, a range of nine kilometers, eh, Mikasa?" Thomas said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Quiet, we can joke about Mikasa secretly being a warship later." The stoic Annie said with narrow eyes.

Mikasa was uncertain of how to feel that a warship from the other world coincidentally had her name, but she was far more amazed in actually being able to see the moving picture on a screen.

She was about to ask how they could understand what the other man had been saying earlier when she noticed that the moving picture had changing letters on the bottom that were written with their own alphabet.

_They translated these for us…_

The moving picture then showed the man was outside in front of a gigantic gun, buildings and other boats visible behind him as a pair of people walked around.

"…earlier on, we saw the first of these huge twelve inch gun turrets, the first being on the stern and second one now being on the bow of the ship. The crew were incredibly well protected by German designed Krupp, armored steel plates. With a rate of fire of one round per minute and a range of fourteen kilometers, they were extremely accurate guns. The accuracy was mainly due to the English designed Barr and Stroud of Glasgow rangefinder, but…"

"To think that this is a one hundred year old warship in their world. Incredible." Annie mumbled.

Troy smiled behind the cadets.

They would have access to learning tools beyond the imagination in this world.

_To think we almost didn't bring those computers along…_

He glanced at his watch.

_The other cadets should be…_

Out in the supply depot of the fort a table was set out and the other half of the 104th stood around it, staring at the odd weapon on display.

Ymir picked up the wooden rifle and raised an eyebrow.

"How are we supposed to fight titans with these?"

Commandant Shadis took it away from her and placed it back on the display table.

Sargent Roy smiled at the deed and said "Because it fires these."

He pointed to the box of ammunition next to the rifle and pulled the lid open.

Large, shiny casings of .458 Winchester sat neatly on the table.

"Now, keep in mind that this rifle was modified from its World War Two variant in order to fire these, but given the lower recoil and its status as a semi-automatic rifle, it is probably the best weapon at scoring a titan kill that isn't chambered in .50 BMG, these rounds."

Sargent reached into his pocket and showed the ammunition used in the anti-material rifles.

"When will we begin… training with these?" a worried Bertholdt asked.

"Tomorrow morning. For now we want you all to get settled. We can meet the rest of your friends in the morning." The sergeant said, glancing at the weapon.

The man was a fan of older firearms, missing that he never got to test the old M14, only knowing that a buddy with "The Old Guard" had used it once.

He was honored to begin assisting in the training of a new army with a new twist on an old American rifle.

The thing was even wooden!

_Soon, the M1 Garand would see action yet again._

…

The city streets were still mostly wrecked, weeds growing through the cracks, and moss covering the shattered bricks and stones that had once made up small homes.

Eren stared in some restraint as he recognized the old homes.

The Humvee came to a halt and the American driver said "sorry, we have to walk it from here."

The three cadets exited the vehicle with a single American, leaving the other one to stay by the vehicle.

Most of the district within the wall had been fairly cleaned up, but a fair chunk of it remained as it had after that day almost five years prior.

Mikasa almost unconsciously lifted her scarf up higher as a cool breeze moved through the narrow street.

The four humans moved around the empty street, the American leading with a slung over rifle as almost silent chatter came from the radio on his shoulder.

"So… this is really important to you two, huh?" the third cadet asked.

He was met with utter silence.

"Sorry…"

"No, its fine… I just didn't think I would get here so soon."

Reiner nodded at Eren's words.

"Careful around here…" the American soldier leading the trio said, pointing at the crushed home.

A large bolder was supported on wooden beams that looked like they could give way soon.

"We're waiting on some supplies to fix this area soon, but it's been a challenge." The soldier sighed as they passed through it.

_Not even German workers could have this fixed in a month…_

"Most homes were already in bad shape back then… I don't know how many died when the rocks hit their roofs." Eren breathed.

It was one of the poorer districts after all.

The shockwave of the colossal titan alone probably knocked some structures down.

How many had been trapped like his mother, forced to struggle uselessly as their inevitable fate announced its arrival through slow, booming footsteps?

Eren felt his fingernails dig into the palm of his hand, almost breaking the skin as he tried to push the painful memories away to little avail.

The third cadet turned and vomited suddenly.

"Reiner, you okay?"

"Y-yeah… just… I'll be fine."

"Look, Reiner, I appreciate you coming along, but you don't have to, really-"

"No, call it a… I don't know… selfish request. Got curious after hearing your story." he replied, forcing a smile.

The other two cadets gave him a seemingly understanding look.

Clearly he was worried about them. The older teen had witnessed a titan incursion himself so they understood that this wasn't easy for him.

But they soldiered on.

Walking slowly through the ruined district, they observed the shattered monuments of the tragedy that happened there.

For the two previous inhabitants of Shiganshina, the streets became more and more familiar until…

"Up… there…" Eren said and moved past the American, Mikasa hot on his trail.

The soldier stopped as he looked at the crushed remains of a home.

"God damn…"

It looked as if the giant piece of the wall that slammed into it had rolled over it before stopping suddenly, not caring for whoever lived there.

The two teenagers ran up to it and stopped to look at it.

"It's… smaller than I remember." Mikasa breathed suddenly.

The American didn't notice Yeager wipe his eyes before saying "Should be over here… come on."

The American grimaced as he watched the cadets begin to dig into a pile of rubble.

"It… wasn't even like this back in our village. Never this… bad." the blonde cadet mumbled with unease as he slowly stepped forward.

"Sorry..." the American breathed, unsure of what he or anyone could say to help.

He observed the destroyed home for a few seconds before moving up to help the other two teens dig through the rubble.

They were quick, but delicate in their efforts, Mikasa collecting some otherwise undamaged plates and utensils in a neat pile.

_This was the kitchen, so the entrance should be…_

"Found it… I think." Reiner said as he lifted a wooden board that appeared to be a door.

Under it was a large hole in the ground, stone steps led into a pitch darkness that was made all the more noticeable as the sky turned orange.

The American took a deep breath before saying "Well, looks stable enough… we only have a few hours of daylight left and you guys need to be back at the main base before sunset. Let's hurry this up."

Taking out a single flashlight, the soldier moved along with the cadets into the darkness, the beam of light giving them a fair view of what was in front of them.

The steps went down for a few meters before turning into a short hallway that ended in a wooden door.

A well-built iron lock kept them from opening it.

"Huh… you said your dad gave you a key for it, right?" Reiner asked.

Eren didn't reply, nervously taking the key from around his neck and swiftly entering it into the lock.

"Yeah I think- huh?"

He moved it left.

Nothing.

He moved it right.

Nothing.

He tried again and again, yet it didn't budge no matter what.

"I don't… understand…" he said, his voice almost breaking.

The soldier frowned, and said "Let me try…"

No, the key didn't open the lock, it didn't even go all the way in once he got a good look at it.

"Eren…" Reiner asked then.

"Yeah?"

"Whatever is in there must be really important, right?"

The teenager nodded.

"Okay… let me try." Reiner said.

"Be my guest, this key doesn't work on the lock. Maybe-"

_**CRASH!**_

In one swift motion, Reiner had slammed the side of his body into the wooden door, shattering it off its hinges and knocking it into the room.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" the American shouted as he looked to the roof above them.

It didn't cave in.

"Cadet, _communication_! You could have killed us if it had collapsed the upper structure! God… never do that again… and no one speak a word of this to the Commanding Officers, clear? Cadets?" he asked, angrily.

"Yes sir…" Yeager and Ackerman said.

"Yes sir, sorry sir…" Reiner replied bashfully.

"Right… damn it, it's even darker in here… come on."

With a flashlight being their only source of light they entered the silent room.

The room was certainly an office, a wooden desk surrounded by a large bookcase filled to the brim with what appeared to be medical journals.

"See anything overly important? Cause I can't read any of this…" the soldier said, eyeing the books.

"It's all medical stuff… some of it looks kind of important, though." Reiner noted as he moved around to study the desk.

He almost tripped on a metal cup of sorts.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

He cursed the fact that the American was mostly aiming the torch at the bookshelf so that the two cadets could sift through the journals of their family.

He picked it up and placed it on the desk, looking it over as best as he could in the limited light.

He saw some papers and began to look them over.

"Other than an old cup, this desk just has some notes on experimental flu treatments." Reiner said after a minute.

Mikasa moved to look at it herself, smiling slightly as she recognized the cup. She picked it from the desk as she remembered handing it to Grisha the night before the catastrophe.

They had been such a humble, but happy little family.

Eren frowned thinking hard to himself.

"This doesn't make sense. Dad said this was incredibly important stuff down here!"

The American asked "Like what?"

The cadet stared at the ground, saying "I don't know… he said he would show me this room when I was ready, I thought it was… important."

Mikasa spoke softly then, saying "Maybe doctor Yeager wanted you to become a doctor."

"Huh? Why would-?"

The teenager stopped before he could finish the sentence.

_The world outside is a nightmare, Eren._

_Yeah, I know! But it has to be better than this life!_

He remembered his mother begging him not to join the scouts, he remembered her begging his father to scold him some more in a vain attempt at changing his mind…

_Scold him? Dear, please think this through. Mere words won't hold back the boy's curiosity. Eren, behave yourself and I'll let you in on what I've been doing in the cellar. Agreed?_

"Did… was that his goal? To convince me never to… never to join the scouts? Did he think I would become a doctor instead?" he growled.

He forced the angry tears back.

"Maybe he was worried about you. My friend had his mom take him to a shop to encourage him entering the same line of work… sorry, kid."

"No, I'm sorry… I feel like i wasted all your time."

Mikasa begged to differ. She found the few items they recovered to be of immeasurable value.

But she knew her adopted brother didn't want to hear it right now.

They left the destroyed house after that, picking up what little they could bring back.

For the two cadets, it was wholly unfulfilling.

The closure they expected to find simply didn't exist.

At least from the looks of things...

…

"You think the weak point is due to their nervous system being placed on the very nape of their neck?" Hanji asked as Doctor Hermann as he typed something into the marvel of technology Hanji had now come to recognize as a _laptop._

"I don't know… I was thinking that it could be similar to cockroaches, where even cutting off the head they can still bring oxygen to their vitals and live on for days after the fact. The Bradleys destroyed its head, but just like you said, it continued to move. One of our priorities upon capturing one will have to be…"

"Oh! Do you plan on using your… uh… X-Rays?" the scout asked with some excitement.

The third member sitting at the table calmly ate what the Americans called a hamburger. Life was good for the subordinate who could now relegate the mad scientist and her ceaseless questions to other patient minds.

"I don't really see any other means of safely analysing their internals without it."

The Survey Corps scientist grinned from ear to ear.

_One step closer to uncovering the truth of the titans…_

"So… how soon can we begin the capture operations?" Hermann asked.

"Well, there is an eight meter titan that has apparently resigned itself to the forest not too far from one of our old resupply posts… an abnormal type. What do you think, Moblit?"

As the scientists turned to look at the other scout, the young man simply nodded, more than delighted with the food the American cafeteria would serve.

"Well, if it's in a forest, it may cause some problems."

Hanji scoffed.

"It's the only titan for miles, and all we have to do is sneak in late at night, use a helicopter or something to locate it… the second we find him we can tie him up and drag him to a cage! Easy!"

The cafeteria doors opened as Ilse and the trio of Americans that followed her around walked in.

"And that's why we call noodle incidents noodle… incidents… um…" Jake said as he saw the grin on Hanji Zoe.

"Hey, guys! How do you feel about a little titan hunting?"

Jake smiled awkwardly.

"Nope! I got guard duty at the armory!"

"Cockroach…" Matt and Jake said, deadpanned.

"A dutiful cockroach, don't get eaten!" he said, doing a one-eighty and disappearing through the door.

"Oh, what a shame. I suppose Kane and his men will have to back you up." Hanji said.

The soldiers sighed.

Ilse smiled slightly.

"Well at least we got to shower today." she breathed out.

"Yeah, can't wait to get my newly clean boots dirty again… God damn it all, send some burgers my way!" Jake said.

Matt said nothing.

…

The doors to the church were closed then and pastor Nick stood by the altar, silently praying for guidance.

"Wow, cozy in here." the dreaded accented voice of the American woman sent a chill down his spine.

"Evening Pastor Nick! Give any thought to our offer?" she asked, a bright grin on her face as she did so.

She was alone.

"I have." He said simply after a moment.

They were silent.

The American said nothing, staring at him with a patient smile.

"We are safe as we are. For the past one hundred years humanity has lived within the walls in peace. It was the Survey Corps that brought the attention of the Colossal and Armored titans if you asked me. Truth can set you free, madam, but the consequences of doing so can be just as disastrous as the lies. Until it is necessary to reveal the truth to you, I will keep it with me."

The patient smile didn't disappear once he finished talking.

The woman simply said "A simple _no_ would have sufficed. Jesus… well, we figured you would say that. shame, really."

With that she turned and headed for the door.

Then she stopped.

"I take it you understand that keeping this a secret is vital to your continued survival, correct?"

"Is that a threat-?"

"Take it however you want. We know where you are, we know who you talk to, and we know when you do so. We'll find the truth eventually, Nick. You can run over to your friends at the Military Police or… perhaps the Interior police would be more competent? Regardless, nobody will believe you, and you will have no proof that our meetings ever happened."

Pastor Nick stared back, unflinching.

The woman sighed, and said "If you change your mind, give us a call."

Then she disappeared into the darkness of the dimly lit street beyond the church.

_Veritas vos liberabit…_

"I pray we never need people like you..."

Pastor Nick was entirely ignorant of the dark haired woman sitting on the top window of the church, staring down at him.

_Not good, Nick. Not good at all…_

The ethereal woman lifted her thumb to her chin, a look of worry on her face.

She glanced at the SAS operatives exiting the alleyway as the American met up with them.

_Hopefully Kenny will be smart enough to let you all know._

A gust of wind blew form the east.

As soon as it passed her form disappeared, leaving no trace of her ever being there.

In the darkness of the night, even with the full moon, no one would have seen the figure with jet black hair floating through the air in the district.

And even if they somehow saw her, would anyone believe them?

With a look of sadness, the woman made her way back towards the fields of Wall Maria, quickly disappearing into the pitch darkness of the gate, unseen by anyone.

…

"I'm sorry to hear that." Armin said solemnly, waiting for his friend to answer before even attempting to take a bite of the steak that had been served with his dinner.

"I don't think it matters anymore." Eren sighed.

The trio went silent for a second, Armin breaking it.

"Maybe we should just focus on the future now. I mean just look at all the information, all the knowledge that is right by our fingertips now!"

"Yeah, but if anything it reaffirms what we have to do. I can focus solely on that now."

_Kill every last one of them…_

"Maybe you missed a spot." Armin suggested.

The grumpy teenager glanced at him saying "Doubt it. But even if you're right, I doubt it would be anything that would change much. I think dad simply wanted me to be a doctor instead of risking my life to explore the nightmare of a world that exists beyond the walls."

From outside the fort, the looming structure stood silently in the moonlight.

"And for the first time in a century… humanity is finally ready to begin taking back what's ours." The teen said, looking at the stars beyond the walls.

"Yeah… I think our parents would be proud… all of them." Armin suggested.

"Maybe your parents, mom would probably be worried sick."

"I think my parents would be proud." Mikasa said then.

"Well, I suppose you're right. There are other Orientals working with us now so I think they would want you to get in touch with your culture-" Armin started but was cut off.

"I think my parents would be proud to see me succeed regardless." The girl said, the slightest hint of irritation in her voice.

"Regardless, we're actually going to be the first humans to begin taking land back from the titans."

They eyed the mostly dark district, admiring the rays of moonlight making the environment feel homely rather.

It was as if hope had been restored after living through so much despair.

But not too far from the Shiganshina trio, three warriors hid in the shadows.

Frustration, anger, and fear was high amongst them.

"It's probably a coincidence."

"Damn it, you heard it the same as me, Eren Yeager must secretly be related to all of this!"

"Ah yes, lucky us, we just accidentally stumbled upon one of the lost titans, right? You think it's the same one we lost or the other one?"

The strongest warrior balled a fist and said "I don't hear any of you coming up with ideas! How exactly do we get away from those flying vipers?!"

"I thought they called them cobras…" the girl said.

"I thought they were called helicopters."

"Focus! Any better ideas or are you just wasting time?!"

Silence.

"We surrender ourselves." the girl said with little emotion after a moment.

"What?"

"Coming clean doesn't sound so bad." the third warrior said as he shook slightly.

They were at the spot where they singlehandedly murdered countless of civilians.

It was taking a toll on them.

The three were silent for a second.

The strongest warrior spoke up.

"We all read the same basic material, they clearly despise people who kill civilians, and like it or not, in their eyes the Paradis Devils are civilians, civilians that they are warming up to. What do you think they'll do when you two come clean? You think they'll just tie you up and throw you in a cell?"

_Maybe we could strike a deal with them, hand you over… you seem to like it here just-_

Before the girl could finish her thought the other warrior spoke in a low tone that hid anger and resentment.

"Well what exactly do you suggest we do? You don't want to retreat, you don't want to stay here… what do you want to do-?"

"Their flying machines cannot stay in the air all day, we saw them land to refuel a few times, just like ships, and they aren't even out during the night… we need more information if we plan on striking them."

"Again?" she asked, a dread in her voice.

"As a distraction. Obviously these weapons will stop any titan invasion eventually, but not before it buys us a chance to test my theory on Yeager… and escape unnoticed."

They were silent.

"Even if I'm wrong, we can at least infer that the gate opened up because of the founder, it must have… but if I'm right, then we may be able to get one titan back to Marley, as well as vital information on the weapons and tactics of these outsiders."

The other warriors were silent.

"You guys have any better ideas?"

Silence.

"Good. That's good… We know some of what they can do on paper, let's see what they're capable of in the field. Observe what you can, find out what you can… we meet again in one month."

…

"You sure that it's in there?" Kane asked on the radio as he watched the dark forest through the green glare of his NVGs.

"Affirmative, heat signature shows him lying down about fifty or so meters from your position." The radio crackled back.

Kane silently cursed the eerie silence in the dark woods surrounding them as he tightened his grip on the M4.

"This would be easier with a tank…" he muttered.

Ilse turned her head to look at the Marine but didn't say anything.

At that point she was just searching for any distraction from the dark forest. In spite of the full moon above them, under the trees it was not exactly easy to see without night vision goggles, and even with them the whole place felt eerie.

The small formation of Americans and Survey Corps scouts pushed deeper into the somewhat dense forest, the scouts in the front, a position that would be the most beneficial given that their gear was meant for engaging the enemy up close and would give them the speed to escape on time.

The Americans stood behind the scouts, M4 carbines at the ready with several M203 grenade launchers to support them.

But if the titan was asleep or unmoving it wouldn't come to any engagement.

According to the drone the scientific team was manning out in the field, where the scientists were safe should the beast wake up, were monitoring them as a helicopter at the FOB made its way to their location in order to drop the large cage on it.

Kane nervously held the assault rifle tighter as the forest around them began to thin out.

"Okay, we're getting to a clearing; he should be just up ahead." Jake whispered.

Levi, who was on point, slowed down slightly before making the others stop where they were.

"It's not here." he said.

The radio crackled to life, Hermann saying "Not possible, the heat signature shows it twenty meters ahead."

"Doctor, Levi isn't lying. We don't see him." Moblit said as Hanji scanned the area in an almost obsessive manner.

Ilse moved up slightly, saying "Hey, you guys see that?"

Matt moved up and lifted his NVGs to look through the scope of his M4.

It was a small field of silvery flowers in the middle of the forest.

That was pretty enough in the moonlight as the flowers seemed to reflect it and almost seemed to glow in the darkness.

That wasn't what unsettled him, however.

"Is… is that a throne?" Petra asked silently.

Just beyond the moonlit field of flowers, several large rocks had been visibly moved from their resting place on the ground, dragged, and placed in a manner similar to a throne or a chair.

A pile of sticks sat on it, with a small moss covered rock on their top.

It looked like a doll.

"Hermann, we have no visual on the titan, but… it looks like it lived here… like it built a-"

"Ma'm! Get back here!" Moblit called.

Hanji had started to press forward slowly.

Levi breathed before saying "Great… damn it, let's move forward… slowly."

Kane nodded and signaled to the other Americans to be ready for an engagement.

Team Levi and the Americans pushed into the field slowly, just behind the Survey Corps scientist.

The woman walked up to the structre, no longer worried as the titan appeared to not be there.

"It… really does look like a doll. What does this mean?" She mumbled as she went into a deep thinking process, trying to understand the possible reason behind the humanoid construct.

Titans didn't climb after all.

And it was the middle of the night, so even if it had climbed a tree, it was most definitely asleep by this point.

"Hanji!" someone screamed.

Unlike the soldiers behind her, Hanji had stopped looking above her.

She glanced up and saw the giant, wide eyed and still, looking right at her.

Despite every other example that she had witnessed to that point, this titan was still awake.

Even the titans encountered during nighttime had only been awake due to them purely lasting longer, but never had one lasted beyond midnight!

_Well, learn something new every day. Oh-!_

The beast dropped from its perch, almost crushing her.

Hanji stared at the large face that looked like it was struggling with itself.

The loud sound of automatic fire was followed by the creature's left eye popping like a grape.

"The damn thing was hiding up in a tree! It's fully awake!" Jake shouted into the radio as he dropped an empty magazine from his carbine as Kane began to fire at it, less to pop the other eye and more to distract it.

The monster rolled back, away from Hanji, covered its unhurt eye and lunged at the Americans.

Levi was on it like a laser guided missile, chopping an arm off with almost impossible ease.

The monster, falling to the floor, looked, almost by accident, at Ilse Langnar just as its right eye exploded into nothing by another burst of 5.56 rounds.

"Jesus… okay, it's subdued!" Jake said into his radio, lifting up his NVGs.

"C-copy! Helicopter is only five minutes out!"

Kane glared at the scientist and was about to speak up when-

"_Did you want to get yourself killed, Hanji_?!" Levi shouted after two seconds of silence, picking up the girl by the collar, shaking her slightly.

"…no." the woman said.

She had screwed up, too confident after the previous month of success.

"You know titans are still the reason we were at risk of going extinct! You should know better than to underestimate them! Never make me repeat this!" the man shouted back before dropping her harshly and turning to glare at the unmoving beast.

Kane stared, surprised by the outburst f the relatively stoic man.

_Huh, maybe the guy really does have some-_

He raised his rifle as the beast lifted its head slightly, once again turning it towards Langnar.

"Eyes are still out, hold your fire until-" he said but a low, guttural voice interrupted him as it chilled the blood of everyone in the area.

"**Lady… Ymir…**"

Hanji blinked, turning to her subordinate before asking "Um… H-hey, Moblit… is… that-? Am I crazy or… or did that titan just…?"

Feeling uneasy, Ilse said "Did… did it just speak? To _me_?"

Upon her speaking, the titan used its still able arm to move towards her, only to bow before anyone could react.

"**La…dy… Y…mir… the… the people… they…**"

"Y-you're… huh? What people? What are you talking about?!" the girl demanded, feeling an eerie sensation flow through her.

Matt nervously moved his hand towards the trigger on the M203.

Levi positioned himself so that if it tried anything he would access the nape with ease.

"Easy, easy now…" he said regardless, noting that his team was preparing to attack as well.

"C-captain?"

"Ilse, stay calm… this just proves how important it is to take-"

The unearthly shriek of the monster sent everyone's senses into overdrive.

"**The People, they- The people, they- they-they-they-they-**"

It was all the humans could understand before the beast began to babble before outright screaming to the heavens.

Its eyes had regenerated and the monster was, to the horror of the humans, attempting to claw them out to little avail, blood dousing the silver flower underneath its overgrown head.

Ilse took a single step back only for it to manage to grab her.

Oluo reacted first, either out of panic or for being closer.

He cut its arm almost cleanly, ripping away the muscle, causing it to fall uselessly to the dirt, Ilse on it.

The girl used her gear to retreat a fair distance, as did the member of the Levi squad.

The second the two were clear Matt fired a high explosive grenade, destroying most of the monster's head.

The creature fell to the ground, its still regenerating arm as well as its still attached arm reaching in random directions, its left leg kicking, all coordination lost.

Not dead, but no one would call its existence living.

"Jesus Christ, Hermann, where the hell is that helicopter?!" Kane demanded as the others stared nervously at the creature.

Nobody spoke, nobody wanted to repeat it.

Nobody except for Hanji.

"So… uh… Anyone know anything about an Ymir?" she said, almost jokingly.

The sound of someone vomiting nearby was the only response she got.

Kane shook his hea and walked up to the young Army private.

"Take it easy, boot… good call." He said, patting the eighteen year old on the back.

Matt nervously wiped his mouth on his sleeve before standing up straight, and looking at the monster.

"Jake…" Matt said then.

"Y-yeah, man?"

"That thing talked… and if it talked… then we can assume it built that… scarecrow looking pile of twigs and dirt thing sitting there, right?"

Hanji nodded then.

"It… said something about people…" Ilse mumbled her hands shaking.

"Titans seem to sometimes show some mild semblance of thought… but this one outright talked… and bowed down to Miss Langnar." Jake added.

Levi felt his jaw clench.

_Is fate toying with us? What the hell is this?!_

"I don't know about you guys, but… I think ya'll just caught a huge break in finding out the truth about the enemy…" Matt finally concluded as the sound of a Chinook could be heard in the distance.

What could be caught could be analyzed.

What could be analyzed could eventually be understood.

What could be understood could eventually be explained.

What could be explained could eventually be conquered.

The question was how long it would take to do.

Better put, how many more had to die before it was done?

The uncaring silence of the dark forest offered no answers.

* * *

**A/N: First things first, special thanks to ian12091995. He suggested the US military bring computers to teach the cadets stuff about our history, something I hadn't thought about. I mean, it's so simple, just download some videos, pack the computer on a truck and ship them to the base. Easy way to teach the cadets about our world history while introducing them to new technology! **

**Also, I don't want to come off as demonizing anyone, but I thought it would be realistic to at least include the types of opposition the US (and its allies) would receive in a scenario like this. Didn't name names, but if it felt like too much of a straw man please let me know.**

**Now, for the Reviewer Response:**

**Guest- Will the 104****th**** cross the gate and visit New York?**

**Perhaps… **

**Guest- Could Dina be turned back into a human?**

**Good question. I am actually waiting on the manga to answer that question, because whether our science could do so is still an uncertainty given the nature of Ymir's curse and the nature of titans themselves. Assuming US forces captured her, the only way to turn her back (that is known as of October 2019) is to feed her a titan shifter, something I highly doubt would sit well with the American leadership. Certainly something to think about, though...**

**Guest- Could the US find a cure for the curse of Ymir?**

**I was considering this when the latest manga chapter came out and I have to ask… do we even know if the curse is real? Ymir was killed by a spear, and every titan shifter after her has been devoured before dying naturally. I believe Eren Kryuger mentioned it, but I would like to have more details before making it a major part of the fic.**

**Guest- does the story take place in present day 2019?**

**Sort of, I decided that the Gate opened up sometime during the early fall of 2018 and US forces entered the gate sometime during spring 2019. I settled on those dates as they were the time between me coming up with the story and actually sitting down to write chapter 1. **

**Guest- Showing movies to the 104****th****?**

**I don't know if the US would have many movies preemptively downloaded on the computers, but I don't see why they can't show them one movie on a special night given their age.**

**Guest- Will Sadera appear later on?**

**I'm sticking to the Gate exclusively connecting the Attack on Titan world to our own, but why the Gate opened there and not in Sadera and Ginza is something I could address alter on, though it may not be a major plot point.**

**ObamaCare- Will the basement be found early.**

**Yes… the truth and what's in it are a different story, though.**

**Guest- suggestions for future fics and story events.**

**I appreciate all suggestions and recommendations, but I must say that I like to take my time writing. I uploaded chapter 1 before finishing another fic, and I regretted it, so while I may not reply to all suggestions, know that I do appreciate you taking the time to review my fic and five me suggestions.**

**That said, thank you all so much for reading! This was a shorter chapter thanks to classes starting up, hopefully it was still an enjoyable read. As stated earlier, reviews and suggestions are appreciated, I love to hear the feedback form you guys, and if it ever seems like something feels off, please let me know!**

**Thank you all so much for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Diversion**

* * *

She opened her magenta eyes and stared into the eternity that was space and time.

It flowed slowly for her, millennia had passed and she was still not clear on how it all worked… exactly.

"Rory… Rory! RORY!"

She ignored the annoying imp in a bird cage on her nightstand as she moved to look at a specific star.

"Come on, pay attention to me!" the small creature moaned.

The being known as Rory summoned a specific star that grew to the size of a baseball once it reached the palm of her hand.

She moved back to the bed made out of clouds and wind and sat down, staring at the shiny sphere.

"Damned new gods… are you still obsessed with-?"

The magenta eyes turned to the caged creature, silencing her immediately.

As she did this, the bright sphere slowly disintegrated in her palm.

The tiny creature was suddenly filled with understanding as she puffed her chest and mocked "Another dead world?"

The dark haired woman was silent for a moment.

"Unfortunately… yes…" she finally admitted.

"Oh? Who ended it this time? Was it that Yeager boy? Or were you just staring at some timeline where those two morons actually went to war and destroyed the world? Come on, Rory, give me _some_ details! I'll die of boredom!"

The dark haired woman stared at the stars for a moment and let out a tired sigh.

"It was a different world. A poor girl was killed and as a result, an evil ice spirit was unleashed, obliterating the planet."

"Oh? And none of this fills you with curiosity, Rory? How would Sadera hold up against a demon like that? Or better yet, could any of the modern earths manage to defeat it? Perhaps the Russians would have liked it? It was an ice spirit, yes? They like the cold, yes? Just plop a gate right in the middle of Moscow and-"

The woman referred to as Rory slammed her hand into the cage, sending the small imp flying into its bars.

"That _hurt_ you damned usurper!"

"Shut up, Hardy, just shut up." The woman hissed.

"Hmph! You know I'm right… eventually the two worlds will get too separated for the gate to be maintained. It happened to your world eventually. Just accept it."

The dark haired woman didn't reply.

"Honestly, Rory, sweetheart, I know you mean well, really I do… but trying to use _my _gate to help other worlds is… well… _boring_. As well as useless, but _boring!_ I thought you were being creative by having the Americans go in, but honestly the Japanese would have been just as effective. Well, depending on the version they might run out of ammo, but it would be far more-"

"I have my reasons for choosing them."

The imp scoffed, saying "Yeah? What are they?"

Rory stood up and picked up the cage.

She lifted it up slightly so that it could look at the stars above them better.

"Look at that one, and that one, and that one."

The tiny creature stared for a second, recognizing the scenery in each sphere.

"Okay? Just a bunch of Americans shooting at things form different points in time… whoa, did that guy just cut one of them in half with a-? Look at the flames on that jungle! You know, if a universe had been in range back then I would have _definitely_ opened the doorway in California during the 1960s. Ah, Napalm is so-whoa!"

Rory lowered the cage almost violently, saying "Fool, why don't you ever notice the big picture?!"

The small creature known as Hardy yelled "Alright, alright! Don't be so violent with me, Rory, it isn't nice… but yes, I noticed."

Silence.

"Yes?" Rory asked after a minute.

"You know…" the imp said, grinning.

Rory slammed the cage down and yelled "Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, and Afghanistan- what do they have in common?!"

"W-wars?"

"Idiot! America came to the aid of South Korea to protect its liberty. Their men shed blood so that others could be free. Historians disagree, but this was at least partly the reason behind sending soldiers to protect South Vietnam… yes, self-interest had a part in it, but the fact remains. It was America that led the war effort against Iraq when it annexed Kuwait, and America is the _only_ nation in history that has yet to be ousted from Afghanistan. Not the Persians, not the Mongols, not the British, not the Soviets, the _Americans_, Hardy!"

"So?"

Rory stared silently at the now powerless has-been goddess.

"You know what lies beyond those walls?" she asked.

"Who cares about that?"

"Would the Japan that I met stand a chance? They not only refused help from their allies, but actively acted against them. Even this japan would likely struggle without help from its allies. Once they discover the secret-"

The imp gasped and then started to laugh.

"You actually think that gate will hold up long enough for them to figure it out? Listen, my dear, you may have picked some examples here and there, but the second the Americans find out that the gate isn't permanent they are bound to retreat through faster than horses on a racetrack! You know as well as I do that they have had their fair share of retreats, of abandoned allies, abandoned wars. But, if it makes for some entertainment I suppose-"

"What makes you think the gate isn't permanently locked in place?" Rory asked with a serious look on her face.

The creature referred to as Hardy stopped cold and eyed the dark haired woman.

"Y-you can't maintain it, it… the _rules_ are clear, the gate can connect two worlds because realities drift closer to each other in time, but they move apart _eventually_. It would be like connecting two galaxies with a rod and expecting them to remain-"

Rory clicked her tongue, picked up the bird cage and said "Oh, poor, poor Hardy. You only sought entertainment, just like the Romans did. You made the gate to satiate your desires and you never once bothered to really see what you could do with it."

The imp shuddered as the magenta eyes peered into her own.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, it isn't like _we_ won't drift apart from those realities. I can barely manifest there anymore since none believe in me. I believe I could probably communicate with the ones entering the gate, but I can't physically do anything in that world other than observe."

"R-Rory, what are you talking about?"

The jet black hair swung almost hypnotically as the woman moved her right hand to the wall and pointed at two spheres that were not only extremely close, but seemed to be slowly moving along a similar axis in the grand scheme that was all of possible existence.

"Wait… wait, wait, wait… you wouldn't… you… no… _why would you do that_?!" the being that had once considered herself a goddess wailed as if she was in agony.

"Payment, I suppose. How many died because of you? Because of your desire to entertain yourself?" the dark haired woman asked, still grinning maliciously.

"You cruel, merciless goddess! You gave up _my_ gate! And to them?! You could have given it to a space faring empire or-" the imp began before being silenced.

"I told you, I would use your gate to help people… it's the least I can do after everything."

"But… but you don't even know if it'll work! Just because the two worlds are on a close enough trajectories so that the gate doesn't cause any damages to either reality at any point doesn't mean they will magically fix their problems! And America has retreated from plenty of places and you _know_ it! They abandoned the Russians fighting the Soviets after World War 1, they will betray one ally if it suits them and- and they abandoned South Vietnam after they signed a peace treaty everyone knew wouldn't last! Tell me then why would they not retreat once they realize what they're truly facing?"

Rory smiled.

"All they have to do is try to make things better. I have faith this will be different."

She stared through the sphere at the teenagers, now training with guns instead of swords.

_Please don't let me down…_

…

"Faster, God Damn it!" the American sergeant somehow shouted over the overwhelming sound of explosions and gunfire.

"Eren, we're out!" Reiner yelled as the M2 Browning suddenly went silent.

"We need to pull back, it-" Armin's worried voice rang over the diminishing gunfire.

"No! We don't pull back! We can do this!" Eren barked back at him as he fiddled with removing the ammo belt from the box as Reiner quickly flipped the top of the machine gun open.

"Pulling back!" one of the other cadets, Connie, shouted as Mina and Samuel picked up their Browning and used their ODM gear to fly at top speed to another building.

"Yeager, it is do or die! Which is it?!" Sergeant Roy yelled at the teenager.

The sudden shouting in his ears decimated the teen's concentration, delaying him ever so slightly.

Sill, with refined reflexes, he picked up the munitions, steadily placed them on the .50, and-

"Dead… God damn it, get outta here." Sergeant Roy groaned as he moved away from the small machine gun team in training.

The look of shock was soon replaced with a look of despair fell on Yeager as he dutifully picked up the tripod for the machine gun and moved down from the building.

The large steel dummy seemed to mock him as he moved back.

It wasn't long before the entire regiment was suddenly staring at him.

Well, all three of them.

Sergeant Roy made sure of that as the exercise concluded.

"I mean, Christ, I expected a little more from one of the top tenner's in the 104th! What exactly went through your head, Yeager?" the Army sergeant demanded.

Realizing the American wanted a response, the teen swallowed before saying "I thought I could reload the gun in time to kill the enemy, sergeant!"

The man glared back, positively dumbfounded.

"You thought?! You _thought?! _Well then! Let's see what your quick _thinking _resulted in! You gave a fat bastard a nice lunch at the cost of killing two of your best friends and yourself, so that's three dead plus you lost all the bullets you were carrying _and _one of John Moses Browning's works of art!"

Eren refused to even blink as small droplets of spit fell onto his cheek.

"Look, the rule was simple; you fire until the enemy gets within fifty meters, then you pull back, period!"

"B-but the enemy wasn't-I thought I would have the time to reload, sergeant!" Eren said suddenly, quickly, impulsively, and regrettably.

Armin and Reiner wondered if their eyes turned to their third squad mate out of worry or because maybe the statement Eren just made was so dense that it had a gravitational pull of its own.

They didn't see Sergeant Roy grin from ear to ear.

Eren wasn't sure if the sergeant smiling like that was as bad as the subtle snickering he knew was coming from Jean a few meters away.

…

"Not bad, if the weapons are that good, you could hold any district until air support can arrive." Shadis said as he watched the monitors.

_Eren Yeager, good shot so far with the rifles the Americans are training him with, but so are all the cadets. Can't say he's too special even if his ambition could be the death of him._

"Well, commandant, that's the plan."

_Good old Cold War static defense…_

As the Army sergeant on the screen handed out the punishment, Shadis took note of the always passive Armin.

_Armin Arlert, so far a decent enough shot with the rifle, but his diligence seems to be more suited in caring for and carrying logistics, assisting a machine gun position may actually suit him well._

He was still getting used to the newer weapons, but it wasn't too illogical.

Several of these machine guns would be hastily set up on the rooftops of the district in specified locations across from one another, establishing several kill zones for the advancing titans by taking advantage of the ranged weapons.

It had always been that the only way to kill titans was utilizing ODM gear to try and fly into the nape, cut it, and speed away before the titan could react, something everyone, Shadis included, struggled to actually accomplish.

The Garrison cannons, despite their caliber, didn't have the accuracy needed to effectively target the nape of a titan, nor did they have the penetrating power of the American firearms, always needing a bombardment of them in order to effectively kill one or two titans.

Given their long arms and legs, range always seemed to favor the titans when it came to engagements between them and humanity.

With the new weapons, range was finally an ally of the humans.

Shadis allowed a slight smile as Eren continued to be chewed out by the American.

"I won't lie to you, commandant; I was a bit worried your cadets wouldn't be up to the challenge… so far they are all extremely capable. Especially Brown over there…"

"Ah yes, Reiner Braun…" Shadis noted the American pronounced the name slightly differently, but ignored it.

_Even with the Browning machine gun, Reiner has been one of the most accurate shots in the 104__th__. Like he was born for something like this…_

They turned to another monitor, noting the individual cadets training in another section of the outer town, firing the modified M1 Garand's at wooden targets.

…

The crack of the rifle was followed by a high pitched metallic *_ping_ *as the gun ejected the now empty clip and Mikasa frowned slightly as she looked at her target.

She wasn't so much missing as she was barely maintaining accurate shots.

She would aim for the center of the wooden target only for the round to veer slightly off every time.

"Remember to account for wind…" another American called out as the cadets on the firing range moved to reload.

"Wind…" she repeated and adjusted her aim slightly.

***Bang!***

Her eyebrow twitched slightly as the round actually hit the outer edge of the target, exactly where she had aimed at.

Readjust aim, fire, rinse and repeat, until the ever annoying _ping _reminded her that she needed to reload, and try to ignore the glances from the stoic blonde just a few meters away.

Mikasa was accurate enough with her rifle, she could probably hit someone from a fair distance as she was, but Annie…

_**Bang-bang-bang-bang- *ping***_

"Leonhart, no need to show off… I mean, God damn, take it easy on the gun! Controlled fire, cadets, _controlled_! You can fire the machine guns later…" The American officer, irritated with the cadet suddenly firing off four shots in rapid succession, shouted.

Annie simply nodded and lowered the Garand slightly and shifted her shoulder, as if firing the weapon too quickly barely caused a strain.

Mikasa didn't really take satisfaction from the mistake the stoic girl had made. If anything, she might have to admit that Annie was far better a shot than she could ever hope to be.

In spite of the recoil, Annie had riddled the center of the target so full of holes that she might as well try cutting it in half with her ammunition.

And even after getting reprimanded, she had simply nodded to the commanding officer, before stretching and inserting another clip into the rifle.

"Not bad, Ackerman." The American said, continuing past her.

The girl didn't respond.

Her performance was acceptable, and while she wouldn't classify her feelings as anything as childish as _jealousy, _she certainly felt like she could improve.

The thought stayed on her mind until she was eating lunch, noticing that neither Armin nor Eren were in the mess hall.

"Hey! Mikasa, over here!" a girl called.

She turned to see Sasha and Mina waving at her.

She approached the table with her food and sat down.

"Trade you the meat for shooting advice!" the brown haired girl said, grinning a little too childishly.

Mikasa disregarded the girl, turning to Mina.

"Where-?" before she could finish, the dark haired girl simply said "Cleanup. Yeager has to clean out all the shell casings out in the training area and Armin and Reiner have to monitor him."

Mikasa opened her mouth to ask _why _Eren had to do what was essentially the job of _several _people on his own.

Mina, again, had the answer ready.

"He spoke out of turn after screwing up and not pulling back in time. Honestly, I know he wants to _kill all titans _and all, but really, he got Armin and Reiner in trouble too."

Mikasa nodded then.

Eren could still be _very _impulsive.

"I see…"

"But hey, on the bright side, I'm sure he just needs a little time. It's only been… what, a week?"

Mikasa nodded, looking around slightly.

The "updated" uniform they had to wear simply added more pockets to their jackets, supposedly to carry more ammo, almost forgetting the idea of the blades. Those were now relegated to only two per cadet, only to be used in case of a dire emergency, as the idea was to always use the gear to stay as far away from the enemy as they could.

Buttoned up, it almost looked like the vests the Americans carried around, only brown and lighter.

The foods they received were superior to the food back at their old camp, now multiple meals they had never tasted were included, with steaks that were such a rarity back then that-

Mikasa stopped her internal thinking to stab a fork into the table as Sasha attempted to pilfer the small steak mixed into her lunch.

"Eek!"

Mikasa said nothing.

"H-hey, d-damaging the table could get you in trouble… r-right?"

Mikasa said nothing.

"Uh… about my offer-?"

"Sasha, just stop… It's kind of sad seeing you dig a hole for yourself." Mina interrupted.

"Well, yeah, but Mikasa looked so… I don't know, frustrated with her rifle and I think I know how to help… come, Mikasa, what do you say?"

Mikasa said nothing.

She eyed the girl for a second.

In a swift motion she placed the fork onto the steak and lifted it up to the girl's face.

"Tell me."

…

"…I think he's coming out."

Overlooking the empty street from a covered up window, a man with a C8 carbine spoke into a radio as quietly as possible.

Through the scope, he watched an alleyway near the edge of the street, right where a decrepit looking old apartment cast a shadow in the mid-morning sun.

The person of interest for the man, however, was still within the shadows of the alley.

"Yeah, got him…" another silent voice replied.

The figure exiting the alley was a tall man with a unicorn patch on his uniform and messy short hair.

A woman somewhere in her late twenties or early thirties chased after him, seemingly pleading.

The British commando frowned, unable to hear the argument.

"Sparrow, what the hell are they saying?"

The man had whirled around and began to angrily shout at the woman.

Sparrow clicked his tongue on the other end of the radio.

"He says he isn't about to pay for her after _all of that._"

Adjusting the scope on the carbine slightly, the British commando focused in on the arguing pair.

The woman had gotten up and shot an accusative finger at the man.

He couldn't tell if the man had a weapon on him or not.

"Sparrow, be advised, MP is keeping his left hand in his pocket, possibly armed."

"Copy…"

"Okay, Crow, maybe we should move in now. I don't see any weapons but I think we have enough on tape to encourage him to help us out…" a third voice came on the radio.

Crow was about to order his guys to move in when the MP swiftly slapped the woman to the floor with his right hand, removed his left hand from his pocket, revealing a tiny pistol which he proceeded to fire into the woman's face as she got up, smoke covering the body as it slumped to the floor again, dead.

The action hadn't even lasted a second.

_Damn…_

While not necessarily surprised by the action, the members of the Special Air Service now had a problem on their hands.

"Should we take him now, before people start to look out their windows?"

There weren't any witnesses yet, so maybe-

"Crow, second MP moving down the street, ten seconds-kids got ODM gear!"

_That was a problem._

"God damn it, everyone stay put…"

_If the MP sees British and American forces grabbing another MP right in front of a dead civilian..._

Worst case back home would be that the body count could turn from one to two in a millisecond.

But this wasn't Afghanistan.

The kid had ODM gear, something the Americans and British forces lacked.

While the MPs all lacked radios, retreating and warning others would be a piece of cake in the tightly packed slums within the innermost wall.

If the kid was smart, that is.

Crow knew his men could shoot the kid down if necessary, but…

The kid turned the street corner and saw the gruesome scene.

"Klein, what the hell is this?!" the kid roared loud enough for even Crow to understand.

Crow blinked.

_This could be interesting…_

"…Sparrow, are you recording still?"

"Affirmative." the reply came.

…

The streets outside the safe house were relatively empty, aside from the occasional civilian moving about.

Within Wall Sina, the vast majority of people living in the districts were rich folks that owned enough land and materials to provide quality products to nobility and others with enough money to buy from them. Salt, purified water, specially designed clothes, designed carts, artists, all living within the same confined space of Wall Sina.

But even the rich needed servants.

Nobody really questioned who lived in the houses of the working class, so a house near the slums was easy enough to acquire.

From the outside, it just looked like a somewhat broken home.

Nobody could guess it housed some of the most well trained individuals known to the other side of the gate.

And no one would really bother to ask, either.

Few dared to ask questions within the darker parts of the districts.

"Oh, hey, uh… brown-hair seems to be getting some payment from some guy in a hood." One of the Delta operators said as he stared through the camera, recording the transaction.

The blonde woman simply hummed an affirmative as she kept staring at the radio and the operator.

_Still no leads on the so called interior police…_

They had approached several people, none recognizing them as American except a certain pastor.

_At least that guy's still under surveillance_ she thought, grinning slightly_. _

_Listening devices are just the best…_

Her smile slightly dropped as she checked the time.

"Hey, have they radioed in yet?" she asked the operator.

The operator shook his head.

She pursed her lips and shifted in her seat.

Being one of the few operatives that actually needed to step outside and be seen by the local population meant that she actually had to wear what could best be described as "era appropriate" clothing.

That was nowhere near as comfortable as simple jeans, though she had to admit that the long skirt and accompanying undergarments weren't exactly as annoying to wear as she had expected.

_At least I don't have to talk to anyone... though that does make the job a bit boring._

As she pondered this, the radio operator gave an acknowledgement and turned to her.

"They're coming back." He said simply.

The SAS team arrived only a few minutes later.

"So… you didn't get to talk to the guy?" the CIA woman asked as the team removed the dirty hoods, placing them on a box.

The CIA and the US military often worked together in hostile territories, which, in spite of the technical classification as a friendly nation, the walled society, particularly the innermost wall, was anything but.

_The Nobility and the Military Police certainly don't see us as trustworthy allies._

Oh, not that they blamed them, but it simply wouldn't do, what with most of the expeditionary force quickly finishing up the reclamation of Wall Maria, the US would need to have some knowledge of the mysterious king and his advisory if either side wanted to move forward.

Now, while the American Delta Force was certainly up to the task as the operatives working around her in the empty building showed, there was a slight problem in blending in with the local population… accents.

Even if the locals didn't recognize them as outsiders, the second one pretentious MP decided to ask them a question, the operative would be plunged into a dangerous position, one the US would prefer to avoid.

So who better to assist than the British?

Their accents were similar enough, many of the Special Air Service members could pass off well enough as a working class citizen of the walled civilization with the proper apparel, would make it so the US didn't need to waste time training the others on getting an accent right, and, like it or not, they were just that good if not better in a fight should one break out.

_Which rules of engagement prohibit for the moment, but we know how the ball rolls…_

"Unfortunately, circumstances didn't allow for it, Ma'm, but we did manage to record something that is incredibly important."

She nodded as the SAS officer placed a drive into the laptop he was carrying before removing his dirty cloak.

The base of operations for the covert operation was located near the poorer districts of the capital.

Far away from the rich folk for the special forces to move around wearing dirty cloaks that made them look like peasants, but close enough that they could spy on as many MPs and politicians as they wanted.

The camera recording popped on the screen soon enough and the rest of the American team gathered around to watch.

Klein Brady, an MP that had been followed around by some of the British commandos, was being considered as someone they could buy information from.

They had recorded him turning a blind eye to certain individuals who kept some packages that went on the carriages leaving the innermost wall, paying certain women for… _very _inappropriate favors, and overall being fairly lazy.

The CIA team frowned when they saw the man kill the woman in order to avoid paying her. Not exactly unexpected, but it did manage to complicate things slightly. It would make the blackmail easier, though.

Then, from the other street, came the young MP.

_Oh, that's why they didn't get him… a witness._

She focused on the footage as the two MPs began to argue.

"_Klein, what the hell is this?!"_

"_Hey! I told you to stay on the street!" _

"_Why? So that you could go rape and kill some poor woman?"_

"_Ian, let me tell you something. This is the capital, you need to learn to relax and that idealist that fights for justice and the king needs to grow up. Just aren't that many threats out here and… well, no one will remember her anyway? If anything you should thank me for getting rid of a criminal."_

The younger MP simply known as Ian scoffed, saying _"Yeah, and traitors like you need to die. Klein, get on your knees."_

The older MP laughed and said _"Do you actually think-?"_

The CIA team winced as they watched the younger kid swiftly kick the man in the solar plexus.

The older man fell to the ground and the other MP was immediately on him.

They watched as Ian began to pummel the man with his gear, blood splattering the street as the older man uselessly attempted to struggle against the onslaught.

Suddenly, the kid stopped and lifted the man back up, saying _"There, now you at least look like you killed her in self-defense… don't you agree?"_

The older man wiped some blood from his nose, appearing to be about to swing at the younger man when Ian said _"You ever hear about the interior police, Klein?"_

The man in the recording winced at the sudden mention of the interior police as did the CIA team.

"Watch…" Crow said.

On the recording, Ian appeared to remove a badge from his uniform.

Klein cowered then, stammering out _"H-how in the-? I don't understand-"_

"_First sergeant Klein Brady, I am about to give you the opportunity of a lifetime."_

The CIA agent grinned ever so maliciously as she heard the young man on the recording speak up.

"_How would you like to help your king prepare for the eventual against the soldiers from beyond the gate?" _

…

_Come on, Ilse, you've faced worse, just take a deep breath…_

"Alright, let's give it a shot." Doctor Hermann mumbled as the curtain was raised and the lights were flicked on.

Soon the yellow haired titan was made visible.

It was cowering in a corner, hugging its legs.

The underground holding facility was by no means as advanced as anyone would have liked. Ten meters above the eight meter type was a large iron hatch that had been opened and shut during its delivery to Hill Zero One, and now it was just stuck several meters below ground, with thick iron bars and metallic fences blocking his way from the guards that might have been a quick meal out in the forest.

Not so much in a closed off space.

Its fish like eyes, gigantic and frightened, turned to Ilse who stared back at it.

_Deep breaths, deep breaths…_

"Do you remember me from somewhere?"

It didn't speak.

"…what people were you talking about the other night?"

It didn't speak.

"Hey, Lady Ymir, remember her? Who was she?"

It didn't speak, seemingly comfortable to be in a cell.

Hanji groaned, saying "come _on_ you uncooperative child! We want to help you!"

_Speak for yourself…_

Ilse grit her teeth and tried a second approach.

"You eat people. Why?" she asked in a dark tone.

The titan didn't speak, but a fearful look manifested on its face.

"Why do you eat people? Tell me why you eat us!" she demanded loudly.

The titan began to claw at its eyes again, this time pulling at its eyelids, tearing the skin as it let out a pitiful groan.

Ilse shuddered.

Hanji shook her head.

"Well… There is definitely _some_ consciousness left in it. Which certainly suggests it had more before, assuming it's recalling events… perhaps?" Doctor Hermann mumbled.

Hanji said "Well, we can't help it if it doesn't communicate. Hey, no-name! Why do-? oh that's right, remind me to name it later- why do you eat people? If you tell us we can start trying to help you!"

The creature rolled to the side and faced the wall away from the humans, letting out painful moans as it continued to writhe in its cell.

Ilse frowned.

_I could almost feel sorry for it if its kind didn't eat my entire squad._

Hanji shook her head in disappointment.

"How long until we get those X-ray machines?" she asked.

"Not long, a few days maybe. The problem would be installing them so that we can get a good look at it without... you know… having it try to devour us."

"We could always pin it to the ground with nails and iron stakes." She replied a little too cheerfully for the German scientist to find comfortable.

Ilse didn't really care at this point.

"Need anything else?" she asked, no longer wanting to be anywhere near the creature.

"Oh, right, you are dismissed private."

She returned a quick salute and made her way out of the underground bunker.

She overheard Hanji say something as she left.

"Now, what's this about a mythological Ymir, doctor?"

She didn't care enough to bother listening in, preferring to find the guys that were **still **working as her security.

To her delight she found Matt and Dave sitting with Petra and Oluo on wooden crates, playing a certain card game.

"So… I can only use red cards or a symbol that is the same as this one?" Petra asked.

"Yeah, and you can change the color using- oh hi, Ilse!" Dave said then as the girl approached the small group.

The girl sat down, now more than accustomed to the Survey Corps elites, glanced at the two Americans and sat down.

"Why do you think it singled me out? Or reacted to me?" she asked quickly, unprompted.

"…well, damn, Ilse, we were just trying to have some fun but okay… maybe you look like this Ymir chick he hates or worships?"

"Geez, kid, can you take it easy with the brutal honesty?" Oluo sighed.

"Hey, she asked! You're not _too_ worked up over it, are you?"

Ilse simply frowned.

Petra and Oluo didn't say anything.

Matt proceeded to slap the back of Dave's head.

"Well sorry! But seriously, Ilse, it isn't that big a deal if you think about it for more than two seconds."

"How so?" she asked with very little energy.

"Are you a titan?"

Ilse didn't say anything, but her annoyed glare said it all.

"It does raise the question, though. Why would a titan know anyone by name… and who was it talking about when it said _people_?" Petra mused.

"Oh come on, it's obvious." Dave groaned.

"Hey, White, slap him again." Oluo said.

Matt raised his hand but Dave grabbed it, saying "Clearly there's _some_ intelligence behind the titans. Don't you guys have a theory on that or something?"

"Yeah, but… what does that mean? Is it human, titan… something else?" Ilse asked, a memory she was no longer sure was real resurfacing.

_I leave this gate to you and… well, whoever is on the other side._

"Well, I don't know… _some_ intelligence, I guess."

"Oh, I thought you were mister know it all."

"Look, old man, I actually _answer_ the questions! Not seeing any of you come up with anything. just seems like theres some kidn of intelligence behind the giant, unnatural, man-eating _giants_ running around."

"Technically everything you said is a theory some of us have considered at one point or the other…" Ilse half replied, half scolded.

"What-? Then why were you asking-?"

"Hey, White! Emin! " another solider called.

"Yeah?" they both called back.

"Get your Humvee ready, we have a situation!"

Ilse and the two team Levi members perked up, but the Army officer said "You three can relax, it's more of a human problem, not a titan one."

"What's going on?"

"Some wagons were spotted making their way to one of the districts to the west, going to check them out."

Matt stood up sighing "Back to grinder, come on, man."

"Damn it… Ilse try teaching them how to play."

Ilse almost protested, but simply nodded as the two soldiers ran off.

"Wagons, huh? Wonder what kind of fool thought it was a good idea to sneak away from the walls before Wall Maria was fully secure…" Oluo mumbled.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough, now Ilse, how exactly does one go about winning this… ooh-no?"

Pursing her lips slightly, Ilse took Dave's seat and looked at the card game.

"Basically you have to get rid of all your cards, you can put down two at once if they are the same card, some cards make the player that goes after you have to take two or four cards, colors or numbers have to match for you to put one card down-"

"Cards?" the unimpressed voice of the Survey Corps captain startled the young scout.

"The Americans were teaching us to play this card game, sir." Petra replied.

Levi looked at the cards, saying "Whats the goal of the game? Are there bets or money involved?"

_No, but I hear utilizing the draw 4 can destroy friendships…_

"No, sir." Ilse replied simply.

To her surprise the captain sat down, saying "Alright then, show me."

…

Eren wiped his forehead and stretched as he placed the last empty shell casing onto the box.

_At least theyre large enough to find with ease…_

"…sorry about this guys…" he mumbled as he walked to the teammates he had dragged down with him.

"Again, its fine. Just don't do stuff like that again. Seriously..." Reiner said loudly, slapping the young man on his back.

"Yeah… I don't know, I just feel better when we're shooting those damned beasts. Can't ever give them an inch, you know?"

_Not after everything…_

The trio was relatively silent as they walked through the barracks, noting the motor pool in the distance.

Reiner stopped, saying "Would you look at that?"

Armin and Eren turned to look towards the motor pool, noting the M1 Abrams being worked on by the Americans.

"You think they'll teach us how to ride those titan-killers?" Armin sighed in a fascinated tone.

Reiner folded his arms, saying "Maybe someday, but probably not any time soon."

"I wonder how they drive them around. Their jets have to be insanely complicated to control, and if you need four people to work one tank… can't imagine how complicated that process is." Eren said.

They observed the iron beasts in the distance for a minute before Reiner asked "You think they can take out the armored titan?"

"No doubt about it. I bet they can take out ten armored titans on their own!" Eren replied, gleefully forgetting all the backbreaking labor he had been doing previously as he imagined the oppressive beasts getting pummeled by the heavy tracks of the armored chariots.

"Yeah, I wonder where it went off to now…"

"I think I read one theory that there's some kind of intelligence controlling the titans somehow, but I don't think there's any proof. Would explain the armored simply disappearing."

"Armin, the armored and colossal titans were just abnormal types… I would think. Honestly, what kind of intelligence would…" Eren stopped and thought it over.

Cities under siege, an ancient tactic to wear the enemy out… used a lot by humanity in this world, but definitely in the other side of that doorway, names such as Vienna, Jerusalem, and Leningrad came immediately to mind.

"But even if they weren't… we'll beat the enemy back."

_I swear it…_

…

Rod Reiss rubbed the pulsing vein in his forehead as Deltoffe continued to read the letters sent by the American representative.

"Your majesty, they continue to claim that the oriental nation of Japan has expressed some concern over the wellbeing of people that are possibly related to them."

"Ah, but our answers are insufficient?"

"They claim that simply not having the records isn't an excuse. Your majesty, they want to allow journalists from different nations into the capital." Aurille said, worried.

Rod sucked in a breath.

Journalists from the other world did not have much incentive to follow his rules.

Journalists from the other world didn't seem to just write what they were told.

Journalists from the other world probably liked to ask too many questions.

"Tell them that they can tour the capital under escort of Commander Pyxis, they cannot interview the king or government officials other than you people. If they ask something they shouldn't, just tell them that you can't share that information…" Rod sighed.

Journalists from the other world needed radios and televisions to report their findings, something that didn't exist within the walls yet, and censoring newspapers was easy.

"Speaking of information, the scouts captured a titan earlier in the week, correct?"

"Ah yes, the talking titan… allegedly." one of the nobles said.

Rod perked up at that, granted confused.

"It… spoke?"

"According to Hanji Zoe of the Survey Corps, they attempted to capture an eight meter type that was not only active during nighttime, upon encountering private Langnar, it allegedly managed to speak, albeit briefly and nonsensically."

Rod raised an eyebrow.

"Did it say anything coherent?"

Deltoffe shook his head, saying "According to Miss Zoe, it simply made reference to some Ymir character before babbling and attempting to tear its own eyes out. Last thing she wrote is that both the scientists from the other world and herself are trying to communicate with the creature."

_Well, that's disturbing, but not what we're looking for…_

"Get Erwin and his little clique to report to the capital later this month, I'm curious about those working first hand with the Americans, and I want to hear what comes of this talking titan."

"Very well, your majesty… now, we have some worrisome reports that came to our attention recently…"

Rodd raised an eyebrow.

"Worrisome, how?" he asked.

"Well, several people in the poor parts of the capital have gone missing as of late, but no bodies have been found yet."

"Human traffickers?" the true king asked nervously.

"We are worried about as much."

Now more than a little concerned, Rod sank in his chair.

Wall Maria was essentially back in human hands, but that simply enticed criminals to sneak out and try to establish themselves in cleared out areas while the Americans focused on killing what hostiles remained. If the old traffickers and thieves tried something like that and the Americans found out…

_It's like control is being slowly pulled away from me…_

"Now… my king, the Americans have cleared out most titans within Wall Maria and are available to assist us if needed. Perhaps they could-"

"No, they can't be allowed anywhere near the capital with their weapons or technology. Post more guards in the neighborhoods and send Ackerman as well. He's not really busy right now."

_Better to let a few men and women die than to risk going against the will of the Founder._

Deltoffe nodded, unquestioningly.

"Then that just leaves the progress of the ever growing interior police forces."

Rod sat up slightly asking "How are we on that front?"

"Numbers are going up, especially after several of our own found and conscripted some corrupt MPs. We could have a thousand soldiers trained and ready by the end of the month."

Rod smiled at that.

At least there was some good news.

…

Matt rotated the MK19 slightly as the Humvee rapidly made its way over a hill.

"Jake, I see them!"

"Yeah, got it, Vick Actual, we got a visual on the unknown, we're standing by…" Jake spoke into the radio.

The up armored Humvee crested the hill and caught up to the pair of horse drawn wagons that looked like they had stepped out of the American Frontier.

"Solid copy; all 1st Brigade Vicks, stay in formation, surround but do not engage." The radio crackled.

Three more Humvees moved in from all sides, surrounding the pair of wagons.

An old looking farmer drove the first one. He squinted to look at the Americans as they stepped out of their vehicles.

Jake hopped out of the driver's seat and moved up to the two wagons.

"United States Army, identify yourself." he called as other soldiers exited their vehicles, M4 carbines at the ready.

The whole scenario was off-putting.

The old man stammered something along the lines of "first re-settlers of wall Maria! Please don't shoot!"

_A likely story…_

Jake turned to Dave who shrugged and moved to the radio to make a call.

"Sir, we haven't fully cleared Wall Maria of titans, it isn't safe to be out here."

"Oh, rubbish, the government is always lying about things, and it's been more than a month!"

Jake glanced at Dave who got off the radio and shook his head.

"Sir, the resettlement program hasn't begun yet. I think you're a month early."

Matt narrowed his eyes as he noticed that the wagon in the rear seemed to be moving on its own, its driver looking mighty nervous as he looked behind him.

_A trapped animal…_

"Oh, that's true, but we're safe now, aren't we? No titans at all!"

"Sir, we are trying to keep things safe out here, can't have civilians start resettling while we're killing titans. We're going to have to escort you back-"

"No!"

A scream came from the rear wagon and the Americans managed to look in time to see a woman throw a frightened child out of the wagon before getting dragged back in as she attempted to flee.

"God damn it, what the hell is going on back there?!" Jake demanded as the other troops in the rear looked just as confused.

The old man actually leapt from his position on the wagon and dropped to the grass below.

A furious man with a flintlock rifle stepped out of the covered wagon and screamed "Get back- damn it!"

He went to pull back the hammer on the musket, Jake yelling "Drop your weapon right now!"

The driver of the second wagon hopped from his position, moving from the rear of the first wagon and revealing a small pistol, firing a shot at one of the soldiers.

The shot hit the young man square in the chest, pushing him back slightly, dazed but unhurt, he hit the corner of one of the Humvees and used it to keep himself from falling down completely, just as another American ducked and lifted the M4 carbine, letting off a single round that dropped the armed man in an instant, leaving a bloody hole in his chest.

_Musket balls stood little chance of penetrating modern day Kevlar armor._

The man still holding a musket dropped it and raised his hands in surrender.

"God damn it! All weapons on the floor! Everybody out of the wagons! Now!" Jake shouted.

Slowly ten people exited the small wagons.

Jake ground his teeth before furiously walking up to the now unarmed man, saying "What the hell is this?"

The man said nothing.

Behind him, three women ranging from young adults to middle aged were bruised and had their hands tied up by ropes.

Then there were four kids, including the one who had been thrown out of the wagon, two boys, two girls, none of them a day over twelve hid behind them.

Three teenaged boys were the last to exit the wagons, their faces burned and disfigured.

"Traffickers! They kidnapped us from… from wall Sina…" the old man coughed as one of the younger women helped get him back up.

"Oh, human traffickers, huh?" Jake said as the other Americans quickly moved to untie the now safe civilians.

"Well, how do they deal with your kind in the walls?" Jake asked, getting uncomfortably close to the criminal.

The criminal only said "I bet they do worse than you."

Jake only smiled politely before saying "Take this… thing away and let Hill Zero One know."

Dave simply moved in with a pair of heavy duty zip ties, he grabbed the man and pushed his arms behind his back, asking "Okay, you comfortable?"

The man didn't reply.

Dave pulled and tightened the plastic restraints on the man's arm until he heard a protest.

"Okay, good." He said, tightly tying him up and then pushing him toward one of the Humvees.

…

"What makes you think I can teach you anything?" Bertholt asked Mikasa as he cleaned the rifle.

"Sasha says you're just as good as Annie."

"And you all fell for that?" he asked, a look of disappointment in his eyes.

Connie, Christa and Mikasa of all people had suddenly approached him in order to ask him about shooting with greater accuracy.

The three cadets didn't respond, simply eyeing him expectantly.

"Look, it's just training. These guns are easier to handle than our muskets, even _if_ they look scarier." He said with a sigh.

"Oh, don't give me that, Bertholdt, you need to have _some_ technique. Christa said she saw you shoot pretty good, too!" Connie barked back.

The small blonde stammered something resembling an affirmative.

"Whether you help us or not is irrelevant to me, but I admit that it's rather difficult to understand why you're such a good shot if you were afraid of firearms less than a month ago." Mikasa said in an unreadable tone.

Bertholdt sighed deeply, mumbling "I still am…"

They were all silent for a moment.

Bertholdt took a deep breath and said "Alright, if you want my advice, just come with me to the range when we train tomorrow. I can ask the sergeant if it's alright for me to help you."

Satisfied, Mikasa simply nodded and left Bertholdt to the overly thankful Christa and Connie.

Much to his dismay, the young man felt the burning eyes of a certain cadet bear on him before he felt the tug on his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey, Bert… how about you teach me, too?" Ymir asked in a tone that somehow, despite the friendly smile, the cheerful energy, and the friendly way of greeting him, felt like a threat.

"Err… sure… just join us tomorrow."

"Good! Come on, Christa, if we hurry we could get to the showers first!"

"Oh, right! Thanks, Bertholdt! See you in the morning!"

Bertholdt waved her away as Connie mumbled "You ever notice how Ymir is always just… appearing wherever Christa is? It's like the girl has a sixth sense or whatever the Americans call it."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Bert replied.

"Just saying, man, it's kind of weird. Like, she looked like she would bite the sergeant in two when he started teaching Christa how to hold the rifle. Better watch out tomorrow, man."

Bertholdt simply nodded and began to walk away.

Connie sighed.

"What is it with some people here? Just trying to be social… and now I'm talking to myself… great."

…

Karina read the odd information on her barely lit desk.

"Everything okay?" the voice of Lieutenant Troy interrupted her train of thought as he walked into the infirmary.

She frowned at him, still irritated with the Army lieutenant, but willing to still be professional.

"Just trying to figure out the tests." she sighed.

"Still?" he asked.

"_Yes, still_, Troy! The blood composition has some unidentifiable… _something_ and I can't make heads or tails of it."

"But they're healthy?"

She nodded.

"Could ask them to come back in for more tests." he suggested.

"Maybe, though I don't know how much good it would do; not like the samples were contaminated, they're perfectly normal except for _this_ unknown." She said, emphasizing her point by pointing at the data on her desk.

Troy looked at it.

"It's on _all_ of them?"

"Yeah, but it's on these five where it's most pronounced. Like, maybe it's a genetic condition for people here, but it's just odd that we have nothing to compare it to."

"Did you send it to the other side?"

She nodded.

"Well, maybe they'll have better luck."

She shrugged.

"Hey, you're not planning on sending those kids out to combat soon, are you?"

"_God_, no, not until we have more air and ground support at the earliest. As good a shot as they can be, no one wants dead kids, let alone ones that died thanks to American intervention."

"Good, I really don't want to worry about treating kids with missing limbs yet."

"Don't worry about it, so far the most you may have to treat is… who's there?"

Troy had been looking at the window and he could have sworn he saw someone duck down, as if they had been peering in.

Like a spy.

"What?" Karina asked, looking at the window.

"Saw someone peering in through the window. Give me a second."

Troy stepped outside and walked around the building, carbine slung on his back, still at the ready.

Out of the medical station he was only greeted by silence and nothingness.

_Nothing… must've- _

A shadow sped past him just as he turned around to go back inside.

"Hey!"

He chased after the figure as it moved through the mostly empty barracks.

He saw the shadow run through the recently installed bathrooms and followed it inside.

One of the doors swung ever so slightly, as if it had been recently used.

He entered the men's room, flipped on the light switch and looked around.

He heard something coming from one of the stalls, as if its door had just been shut by someone in a hurry.

He walked over to it and slammed his fist on the metal.

"Who's in there?!" he demanded.

A startled girl replied suddenly "Ah! I- P-private Hanna Diament, sir!"

Troy winced, unsure of what to do with the information.

…_okay?_

"What the hell are you doing in the men's room?!"

Silence for a second.

"O-oh? I… didn't notice the sign… in the dark… _because_ it was dark!"

Troy crossed his arms, not buying it for a second.

"Who's in there with you?"

Silence…

"Private!"

"Uh… private… Franz… Kefka… sir…" a young man's voice replied.

Troy rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"You two dressed?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" the quick reply came from both the cadets.

"Good, then get the hell out of that stall!" he ordered, impatience lining his words.

The young pair exited the stall immediately.

Both appeared to be alright despite their faces looking as red as ripe tomatoes.

"What, did you two just get started or something?"

"Sir…" the pair admitted dejectedly, lowering their heads.

"Right, look, its late, you're young, your hormones must be all over the place… I'll overlook this _once_ but you two stay the hell away from each other in public. Got it?"

_Or at least don't get caught…_

The pair seemed unhappy with the orders, but nodded regardless, not about to complain to a superior's face.

"Good… now get the hell out, go to bed."

"Yes, Lieutenant!" the cadets replied, moving quickly out the door and out of sight.

_Note to self, remind the Germans to install more floodlights…_

It was too dark out on moonless nights like these, and while the barracks and the main base were mostly well lit, the incident was living proof that they needed to modernize much faster.

Troy hadn't even noticed the small open window in the bathroom.

The Warrior risked a glance through the window into the bathroom as Troy exited without noticing her.

It had been small, but she had managed to escape just as he caught up to her.

It had been a miracle the two lovebirds of the 104th had decided to have a little get-together that night, but she wouldn't complain.

_They're suspicious of our blood…but what the hell does she mean by there being __**five**__?_

She shook her head, deciding to warn the others of her discovery right away instead of waiting any longer.

She doubted their self-proclaimed leader would act on it, or at least, act with intelligence on it, but if the Americans were onto them…

She desperately wanted to see her father again before she died.

…

It was the middle of the afternoon, and the Strongest Warrior slapped the book he was reading shut, trying desperately to keep his composure. It was comforting knowing that at least books hadn't changed much in a hundred years.

_At least some things won't change…_

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and moved to the bookshelf to place the history book back when one of his comrades appeared.

"We've been found out." She said simply.

The warrior was actually stunned by the statement, pausing for several long seconds before slowly turning to look at the girl.

"What?"

"The blood they took from us… somehow, they noticed something different, but it gets stranger."

The rather loud chattering coming from the nearby hall shut her up as the strongest warrior simply said "Tonight, past midnight, same spot."

The girl nodded and left, leaving him to think on what had just been said.

He left as he heard one of the Americans move into the area, grabbing another history book and sitting down on another table as the young man walked ahead, eyes on one of the strange devices he had seen the soldiers carrying.

"Damn it... damn it… damn it… damn it…"

He ignored it, continuing to read something about the First World War when the chattering he had heard was finally given a physical form.

"Telling you, these guys are…" the grating voice of Ymir turned a corner, and was promptly silenced when she saw the American on the other end of the room.

"What do you think those things are about?" she mumbled to her ever present companion.

"Ymir, I just want to read up on their monarchies, you can let go of my arm-"

"Oh, my brave little Christa, if only it were so simple! Who knows what dangers lie around every corner in this… mysterious realm of foreign knowledge? Like that guy over there!"

The Warrior refused to look up from his book, despite his fondness for the blonde, the dark haired Ymir always managed to appear whenever someone else tried talking to Christa, which made it so that he rarely got any chance to talk to her.

"Well, go talk to him then, unless you want to read about monarchies."

Ymir seemed to want to argue, but the blonde pulled away from her grasp relatively quickly and disappeared behind a column of books.

She huffed and began to follow when the American in the room spoke up.

"You two cousins or something?" he asked.

Ymir flinched, frustrated that the young man had suddenly decided to start talking with her, but more so by the fact that the question was so positively stupid that she _had_ to reply.

"No. What's it to you?"

The American raised an eyebrow, saying "Nothing, I guess. Just notice that wherever she is, you suddenly show up."

Ymir smirked, saying "You like spying on girls, mister…?"

"Ryan, and no, I just have to keep an eye on the lot of you so that we don't have to deal with suddenly not-alive kids in our base." He replied, shuddering.

"Oh? Are there dangers here? I thought the place was secure…" she asked, smiling.

"Yeah, but two… individuals were caught last night performing… unsanctioned nighttime activities… the type that add their own danger."

_That _intrigued the teenager.

"Wait, did someone catch Franz and his wife-to-be together in the middle of the night?"

"Wouldn't know, the lieutenant didn't give names and I don't care what you kids do as long as we don't have to deal with an unplanned pregnancy or something."

Ymir narrowed her eyes.

"You make it sound like you're babysitting us."

"We… are?"

Ymir scoffed as she muttered "Honestly, you people may be far more advanced than us, but you have no idea what we can do. We're not children, you know."

She planned on leaving, but noted the flashing lights coming from the device the American was holding.

"Hey hold on, that isn't one of your computer, thingies, is it?"

_It's different from…_

Ryan glanced down and lifted the device, saying "We call it the _Nintendo Switch_. Video games on the go… you wouldn't get it."

She cautiously moved closer to stare at the device.

A young… man(?) wearing green clothing stood in an open field, several bars and numbers were on the screen as well, though their meaning escaped her.

_Huh… colorful…_

"Kinda looks like one of the… moving pictures on the computers… the ones with the tanks?"

"Computer generated imagery; you can create and move around all sorts of stuff with it."

Ymir pushed a button with a letter, mumbling "Sounds like a waste of time-"

The second she pressed it, the little man(?) on the screen made a little hop.

Ymir blinked.

"Excuse me, sir, do you know where the books with the kingdom are? I swear I saw some of them earlier, but…"

Ryan put the device away and said "Oh, Private Lenz… uh, sorry but I haven't really-"

"Got it right here!" someone suddenly said.

Ymir glanced at Reiner who handed Christa a book with an odd flag pasted over several pictures of a picturesque city.

"Oh, thank you, Reiner! I was looking all over for it!"

The teen chuckled lightly, saying "Ah, it's nothing, I was reading it earlier, and it's really quite interesting."

Ymir felt jealousy spike from within but before she could object, Christa said "Well, thank you! Maybe you could help me find stuff in it?"

"Sure, like what?" Reiner said as Christa led him to the nearby table.

"I really just want to know about this Queen Elizabeth…"

The American turned to look at her and said "Huh… She is _incredibly_ polite for a soldier."

Ymir shot Ryan a glare he didn't seem to catch.

"Anyway, I have stuff to do… what?"

Ymir said nothing as she continued to glare at the American.

"Um… what? Are you two… a thing or something?"

"What's it to you?"

"Kid, I don't care, but if you _are_ a thing, just don't go out after lights out."

Ymir frowned but didn't argue as the American left.

_Damn it… maybe we still are just a bunch of kids…_

…

General Connor had just started reading the new report when the US representative stormed in and sat down on a chair in front of him.

"Representative Kelly, if you want to vent-"

"The son of a bitch is preparing a force specifically to attack us, we have little to no communication with the central government, we've just about cleared Wall Maria yet the bastards in the inner wall don't even want to meet in person to inspect our work and now the Army caught human traffickers sneaking out of the walls in order to do God-knows-what to several women and _children_. _Hell yes_ I want to vent..."

Connor blinked, looked up and asked "The son of a bitch is preparing a _what_?"

Kelly shook her head, saying "The covert team we sent in secret… didn't you read their report?"

"I got it last night- I was about to…"

"You do that…" she mumbled, sticking a piece of nicotine gum into her mouth.

Connor stayed silent as he read through the short report.

"I see." He said after a few minutes.

"I don't get this guy, he doesn't communicate, he doesn't want our help, he doesn't want our technology, and he's paranoid enough to start a special force just to _deal_ with us?!"

Connor breathed and said "We would do the same if a technologically superior force suddenly appeared and if anything they seem to be just as paranoid as us… that said from what the SAS reportedly saw… well God damn, I was trying to downplay this, but this is some shady… stuff. Their other suspicious actions not included. What has the President said?"

"He's pissed off." she sighed.

"Uh…"

"In short, your idea of ignoring the weapons ban in the capital is to be fully implemented should we be summoned, and if we so much as sense a threat we call it out. No provocations, the teams in the capital are to stay hidden, but no more beating around the bush, either we're in this together, or we're not."

"I couldn't agree more."

Kelly and Connor turned to look at Erwin and Levi who were standing at the entrance.

Connor smiled slightly and waved them in.

"So, you sent spies into the capital?" Erwin asked.

"That would be correct, commander. They've been there two weeks now, mostly observing. Glad you could join us."

"Sorry for not telling you sooner, but we hoped it wouldn't be this bad and could simply… not be needed."

The man nodded, and Levi sighed, saying "Can't say I blame you."

"No offense, captain, but despite how it sounds, we don't want anyone to die."

Levi shook his head then, saying "Nobody does, but you do what you have to do."

"Correct, that's the difference between you and the nobility."

The two Americans simultaneously raised an eyebrow.

"Let's be honest, neither of us has been completely truthful with the other. I haven't shared all the information I have on them, and I am certain you haven't shared everything about your world with us, granted we have both been busy with other things."

The Americans didn't reply.

"However, the nobility will constantly deny need to know information, vital or not. Am I mistaken?"

The Americans were silent for a second before Kelly said "We didn't even really know about the interior police until our spies heard rumors about them… and we didn't get physical proof of their existence until yesterday morning."

Erwin nodded.

"I was aware of their existence, but since we were focusing on reclaiming Wall Maria, I didn't get the chance to inform you of them."

Connor nodded, understanding.

"Levi did mention that a… family member?" Connor asked the captain.

The captain nodded.

"He mentioned a family member working with the police in the interior that had expressed some concern, but we never expected… this level of pushback. Or at least, so soon."

_I mean, hell, we've been helping them this entire time…_

Levi winced, saying "Your spies haven't found Kenny?"

"Captain, they only found _solid_ proof of the Interior Police yesterday. You think he works with the interior?"

The captain frowned, saying "More than likely, though I wondered if he might have been turned into a high ranking MP instead. Regardless, we should try finding him. He seemed to know something when we briefly spoke…"

Erwin nodded, saying "That is just one thing they haven't told you. Have they given any of you access to the old records?"

They shook their heads.

"I don't think those records exist." Erwin said suddenly.

The Survey Corps commander took a deep breath and decided to come clean with everything.

He knew the information he was about to give to them would only raise tensions.

He knew saying what he was about to say would cost human lives eventually.

But even if he didn't tell them, they would eventually start to notice.

"Why do our history books say that we are all that remains of humanity?"

"Well, it's your assumption, right?" Connor said.

Erwin nodded, saying "Correct, but if that were the case, our history books would say _it is assumed _instead of _we are all that is left_, now wouldn't it?"

Connor narrowed his eyes, and Kelly asked "Commander… do you think the government is… pushing something on the population?"

The man stared sadly at his hands, saying "My father was a history teacher, and I asked him the same question when I was younger…"

"General, Representative, our history books as we know them are filled with inconsistencies. Your history books will openly point out what is known and unknown. Ours proudly declare with upmost certainty that what any other objective investigator would call a theory is actually a fact."

Connor shifted in his seat, intrigued.

"So, when my father told me the same, I… I decided to tell my friends, my neighbors, anyone who would listen."

He still remembered…

_I am telling you, the king wants to control our memories by changing what the history books say!_

_Why?_

_Because of control? I don't know, but why else would-_

_Where did you hear that, young man?_

"…I told some military police officers who didn't seem to care much for my theories. My father disappeared later that day and was found dead in an alleyway sometime after that. They said he was mugged, but…"

"Oh, how convenient… not only does this secret police force operate from the shadows, they're also killing _any_ dissent even if it's just an idea… Representative, we need to look further into this."

"Not just that… if the titans appeared a little more than a century ago, how come no one here has any memories of stories passed down from parents or grandparents. Surely there should be more information from back then, even if records were gone." Kelly mumbled.

"Captain, could you talk to one of our sketch artists? Give a description of Kenny so that we can tell our people to try to find him?"

The captain nodded.

"General, what do you plan to do with the information?"

"Trust, but verify."

Erwin winced.

"You believe me?"

"Commander, we in the US _try_ to be fair to our allies, sometimes we aren't, and sometimes we are. If what you say is true, and the government is actively trying to manipulate the people by controlling what information is accepted and destroying… dissidents, well, if it was that on its own, we may have let it slide as long as they didn't try to apply it to us."

Levi stared with the slightest hint of surprise at the brutal honesty in the words, but Erwin didn't react.

"But it seems like they plan on doing just that."

Before they could say more, footsteps came from outside, a guard saying "Miss Zoe?"

"No time!"

Something crashed, several apologies were given, and then Hanji promptly pushed the door open, quickly saluting the officers and trying to apologize while also explaining what she had found out.

Levi approached her as she continued talking incoherently.

"Commandaral-sorr-interrupti-out-lady…. Ack!"

"Idiot, breathe, speak clearly." Levi said after slapping the girls back.

She took a deep breath and started again.

"Commander, general, sorry for interrupting." she sighed.

"It's fine… what's the situation?"

"I sent Moblit back to Wall Rose earlier in the week to mail the report on the captured titan, and while he was there he decided to check the military records for anyone named Ymir in order to... What do you say… to cover our bases?"

Kelly nervously tossed another piece of nicotine gum into her mouth.

"He… he found a single cadet in the entire military that went by that name. A single female cadet in the 104th. Ymir, no known last name."

Connor glanced at Erwin.

_As usual, the problems get worse._

"She could always just be from the underground. Many folks down there only go by their first name." Levi suggested.

"Underground what now?" Kelly asked.

"The underground city underneath the capital." the captain replied.

"God damn it, we have _spies_ over there, how is something like an underground city kept a secret?"

"People rarely talk about it. It's just an underground ghetto for the poorest of the poor."

Kelly frowned.

_Why didn't they tell us then?_

"Given how messed up the records were at the time, it isn't impossible… but if the titans worshipped a girl that looked like Ilse, and the girl wanted to sneak into your walled society to infiltrate us… what better time to do so than after the wall fell?" Erwin said, now more than glad to focus on the titan enemy, distracting from the interior enemy.

"E-exactly my thoughts, commander! I believe it's worth investigating."

_Although why she would keep her own name… bah, maybe she didn't think a titan would betray her._

"Okay, so to review… Interior police possibly want us all dead-"

"Excuse me, what?" Hanji asked startled.

"Tell you later." Levi sighed.

"We have _that_ and a possible lead on the Ymir identity… Are we missing anything?"

"Oh, um… the king summoned us to report on the situation."

Kelly popped a third piece of nicotine gum into her mouth.

"Okay, so we know the king and the MPs don't suspect us yet… at least of knowing certain things. Maybe…"

Connor smiled slightly.

"General?"

"Did they say anything about journalists being allowed in the capital?"

"Uh… yes, actually. They're allowed through. Why?"

"How about you three act as their escorts along Commander Pyxis? More people, more witnesses if they try anything, Levi can try to locate Kenny, and if they actually try to hurt one of our own citizens…"

The sound of a rolling Abrams returning to the motor pool outside seemed to emphasize his point.

Kelly popped a fourth piece of nicotine gum into her mouth.

_God, I hope the king isn't dumb enough to order an attack…_

…

"We can't attack." The strongest of the warriors sighed as they sat under the starry sky.

"I agree, so let's retreat then." The female warrior suggested.

"Not yet. You said there were _five_ people the nurse mentioned with abnormalities in the blood?_"_

"No, she said there were five cases where the abnormality was more _pronounced_. She said _everyone _in the 104th tested had the same abnormalities. You know damn well what that means!"

The strongest warrior sat on the grass, rubbing his eyes.

"Right, let's go over what we know…" he sighed.

"Why?"

"Damn it, because I want to make sure I haven't gone crazy!"

The other two were silent.

"Right… right… form the top, during the Great Titan War, Marley was able to take hold of… 8 of the 9 titans, yeah?"

The other two warriors nodded.

"Technically the War Hammer titan belongs to the Tybur family, but Marley still has…" he began counting on his hand before stopping.

"That's right… barring the Founding Titan, we only lost the Attack Titan. No one knows what happened to it, right?"

"No, but we know what happened to Marcel." the third warrior said without emotion.

The strongest warrior was silent for a moment before nodding and rubbing his chin, saying "Right… that's right… so… let's assume your theory is correct, and… there are five shifters within the Barracks. Eren is already acting suspicious with his father and his memory erasing syringe, but…"

The warrior was silent, a possibility popping into his head.

"Wait… wait, wait, wait, wait… the Founder _promised _that if something happened he would… he would act, right?"

The other two warriors nodded.

The strongest warrior stood up and with a manic look in his eyes began pacing back and forth.

"So… Eren- his father, he… he injected him with a serum that made him forget what happened immediately after to the point that he is still unsure how much of what he saw was true or not… assuming all of that is true, the only possibility is that Eren's father must have known _something _about the attack… guys… what if the Founder… what if our attack got them to act, just not how we expected? What if our attack was so… so devastating that… that the founder actually gave his power away to someone who had no experience? What if… what if the Founder is… has been right underneath our noses all along?"

The other two warriors stood silently in the darkness for a solid minute before the female warrior let out a sigh.

"You're assuming _quite _a bit there."

"It only makes sense. Either Eren has the Founder or… or someone else here does…"

"What if its neither? What if the one that took Marcel-"

"Oh, that's impossible. Even if it managed to understand how to use its power, it wouldn't be able to understand all of it. My guess, it's still out there, beyond the walls, because there are no other titan powers out there, and I seriously doubt Zeke or Pieck is hiding amongst our comrades."

The warriors were silent.

"We need to narrow it down… we need… we need a plan of action."

"…we could try talking to the Americans, and-"

"Yeah, get the information that way! Talk to that nurse, sneak in and look at her records! Then we can just kidnap them and… then retreat."

_Without bloodshed!_

"Yeah, yeah, that doesn't sound too bad."

"I was going to suggest coming clean but given your current attitude…"

The strongest warrior grinned slightly, a possible road to redemption suddenly clear in front of him.

Then he frowned.

"That said, we need do a backup plan… just in case."

At this point, the other two Warriors knew better than to argue.

…

Bertholdt shuddered as Mikasa managed to hit the center of the target with impressive precision.

Not like any of the cadets couldn't hit a target, but several were certainly far more talented than others.

He tried his hardest not to look at Daz as he reached for another clip that was by his feet, carelessly moving the Garand _out _of the firing range, pointing it towards his own comrades.

He tried so hard to ignore the furious yelling of an American sergeant as he heard what sounded like the poor idiot getting his rifle taken away and ordered to sit down.

_Gun safety was no joke…_

"Poor bastard can't even get used to carrying the damned thing." Connie mumbled, loading another clip into the gun.

"It's been almost three weeks, he needs to get used to it. Even if he's just going to be carrying ammo." he sighed, not exactly enthusiastic to be carrying a rifle himself.

Christa lowered her rifle before turning to him.

"How come you're scared of guns, Bertholdt?"

The tall teen grimaced as the other cadets turned to look at him.

_Gotta tell them something…_

"Back when the wall fell we… we had to run away with what we could carry… um… eventually… eventually some guy tried to rob us… not much we had that he could steal but… but food was already scarce. Reiner and I were just kids and Reiner…"

The young man shut his eyes for a second.

"Reiner was a warrior… reckless but… a warrior. He charged ahead and… told me to use one of the hunting guns we had on us. Basically I would land a killing blow and… and he would take our stuff back… should have been easy…"

Bertholdt stared at the target, but his eyes were elsewhere.

He turned to look at the ground and said "I managed to hit the thief, Reiner got our food back but… it didn't solve anything. Guns are… obviously deadly to us tiny humans… having that much power… I guess it scares me even now."

Mikasa walked over to him, put a hand on his shoulder and said "This world is cruel, Bertholdt. It is necessary to make difficult choices that… don't always end with everyone being alive."

He noted the briefest glimmer of sadness in the eyes of the girl, but she quickly hid it away.

"Just know that in teaching us to be better shots, you're helping us survive the world out there." Christa concluded.

"Geez, can we drop the sentimental crap and get on with this?" Ymir groaned.

"Ymir, is it your job to like… ruin moments or something?" Connie asked.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" the girl asked rather loudly.

"I swear on the grave of Mother Theresa that if any one of you breaks a single rule you will ALL be digging latrines for the next month!" one of the American officers shouted, as if sensing a possible argument brewing.

"Right… got a few more rounds to expend before finishing…" Christa said, going moving back into a firing position.

Bertholdt was too busy staring at his comrades to react.

He smiled ever so slightly as he noticed that their aim was in fact improving, even if by a little.

…

Matt clicked on the dust cover on his M4 once he was certain there wasn't a round in the chamber, then he inserted another magazine and chambered a round before ejecting the magazine and removing the round again.

"What are you doing?" the voice of a girl interrupted his train of thought and he turned to look at her.

"Thinking… passing the time." He replied courtly, placing the lone round back onto the magazine.

"Okay? Heard you got to see some action today..." Ilse said as she moved to sit next to the soldier.

Matt shrugged.

Ilse frowned.

"Anyway, got any plans on what you'll do after the Army?"

Matt shrugged.

"I mean, I think I'll stay here and try to start a business in twon… maybe a book store… I could publish my journal, get some recognition…"

Matt shrugged.

Ilse elbowed him on the ribs.

"Christ, lady! Holding live ammo here…" he said as he showed her the loaded magazine.

"Oh don't be such a baby; you'd need a rifled barrel to get _any_ round to kill me even if it went off somehow. And those rounds aren't in any barrel."

"Yeah, well…" the young man sighed without saying anything.

"What?"

"Human traffickers… I don't know I just… didn't think I would see that sort of thing here even if… even if I knew it happened. I don't know, just feels weird being in another world and… still the same problems."

Ilse shrugged, knowing that humans were humans no matter where they were.

Matt then said "Of course, given your situation and your lack of information… on anything beyond those walls, at least this world has some more mysteries to it."

"_That's _what you can come up with? We have some neat things, like our ODM-"

"A guy from the 1st armored tried to use one and almost broke his back. We've had more casualties from our guys messing around than from the titans! Honestly, even if it's the only weapon you guys have available, the things are death traps if you have no training."

"Well… yeah… you need at least a year of training to use it, another year to get used to it, another year to use it for combat, and another year just to iron the training in. What even happened to the guy?"

"Shot a tree with it, screwed up with one of the triggers and flew into it. He has a mild concussion." Kane said as he appeared almost out of nowhere.

"How's guard duty?"

Matt turned to look at the ominous gate behind him.

"Boring. I thought they said this place was haunted or something."

Kane shrugged before saying "So… we have another mission together."

Ilse and Matt simultaneously raised an eyebrow.

"We're heading to Shiganshina to observe the 104th in training, but specifically… we're going to keep an eye on a girl that goes by the name of Ymir."

…

"Alright, cadets, today we are doing something special. Yu have all trained with the fair variety of firearms from the _beautiful _M1 Garand, to the gorgeous M2 Browning, to the magnificent M87… now, let's assume the armored or the colossal titan appeared today or tomorrow and put another hole in the wall…" Sergeant Roy said as he moved through the columns of cadets standing at attention.

Some of them visibly shuddered.

"Today… we train for the defense of a town with the very weapons you have all been working with. You are all going to be assigned to a team and a specific role, be it a machine gun team or a sniper team or a support team. If you all manage to prepare your positions in a very specific time limit… well, Colonel parker picked out a nice little reward for you all. now, for the teams… Connie Springer, Mina Carolina, Samuel Jackson… you three will man Machine Gun nest…"

Eren felt a rush of excitement.

"Armin Arlert, Thomas Wagner, Private Ymir... Machine Gun nest..."

He was ready.

"Mikasa Ackerman, Marco Bodt… Sniper and support respectively…"

More than ready!

"Milieus Zeremski, Sasha Braus… Sniper and Support respectively..."

No matter what the sergeant gave him he would-

"Eren Yeager, Jean Kirschtein, sniper and support respectively…"

Sergeant Roy hesitated for the briefest instant as he could have sworn he heard someone screaming, but he genuinely wasn't sure if he imagined it. With no way to be certain, he continued reading the list of positions that needed to be manned.

A few minutes later, Eren was silently placing rounds on magazines next to the already frustrated young man.

"I swear they do this just to mess with us…" he heard him mutter.

"You're the one that causes trouble for me, Jean!"

"Just shut up and lets finish working on this… damned exercise…"

"Yeah… right… let's do that…" Eren said, trying to be the last one to speak up.

"Okay, dude, focus or else you might actually die out there." Someone said.

A bored looking American walked over and pointed at the magazine Eren was loading.

"You're putting the rounds backwards."

Eren winced and checked the large magazine.

The American wasn't lying.

"Dumbass…" Jean groaned as he loaded a clip into the modified M1.

"Uh... thanks… you're with the-?"

"First Armored, US Army, not to be confused with First Armored, US Marines... Ryan."

Eren nodded and started to focus on fixing his mistake before saying "You guys going to join us today?"

Ryan shrugged, saying "Just going to escort some group of Army observers coming later today. I hear they're bringing in members of the Levi squad."

Eren felt a chill go up his spine as he turned and asked "You worked with the _Levi Squad_?"

The American shook his head, saying "Not directly, but I saw them before coming here. Gotta say, considering that they can do on their own what we need an Abrams to accomplish… they're pretty badass."

"Well, I mostly care about getting the job done…"

"Yeah, old Eren here only cares about killing all titans." Jean said in a mocking tone.

Ryan blinked as his radio crackled some information and said "Good, you need the initiative if you want to beat an enemy like them. Anyway, make sure your weapons are ready, even if you won't fire them. I gotta go."

Eren waved before turning to Jean, asking "What _did _I do to you?"

"You wouldn't understand."

…

Petra stared at the screens depicting the cadets running through the ruined town just outside the entrance to Shiganshina.

"Well, there she is…" Shadis stated, noting Ymir carrying the tripod for a Browning in one monitor.

"Huh… she kind of resembles Ilse, actually… or is it the other way around?"

"I think I'm older than her, Petra."

"Err…"

"Quiet you two… has she acted or done anything strange that you have noticed?" Eld asked the men in charge.

Colonel Parker turned to Lieutenant Troy who in turn turned to Nurse Karina who in turn said "Well, she was one of the five cadets whose blood has a pronounced… aberration."

Eld took the paper and looked it over.

"Private Eren Yeager, Private Ymir, Private Reiner Braun, Private Annie Leonhart, Private Bertholdt Hoover all have the same oddity in their blood... that said, all the cadets seem to have a specific mutation that we believe all the inhabitants of the walls have, so I'm afraid that it isn't exactly rock solid evidence of much."

Eld nodded and turned to the monitors again.

The cadets were per performing well.

"I'm sure all of them have lost someone to the enemy… it's kind of a stretch to assume one of them is a traitor to an unknown enemy let alone five, no?" Shadis asked.

"Commandant, the lack of information is our worst enemy right now. While we won't do anything to them we need to check everything."

_Too often have entire wars been lost because of a lack of information. _

Shadis nodded then.

On the screen, Sergeant Roy ordered the cadets to start over.

…

"So… one of those kids is apparently called Samuel L Jackson…" Jake mumbled.

The Humvee and the Marine MRAP were parked neatly by the entrance to Shiganshina, having a decent view of the cadets training on the rooftops.

"Well, that's neat I suppose." Matt said as they observed the cadets train with the ODM gear.

"Is it?"

"Jake I don't know if you've heard, but there's this guy working with us called Levi, and he isn't exactly Jewish." Dave replied.

"Okay, point, but come on, that's like finding someone called Kanye West, or Taylor Swift, or George Bush on mars or something. Like-"

"If you want to talk about weird, check that out." Kane said as he hopped off from the MRAP.

A dark haired girl used her gear to hop from one building to the next as Sergeant Roy ordered the cadets practice a tactical retreat.

"Oh, the supposed last Chinese person in this planet." Jake said, wide eyed.

"Just goes to show, not even an extinction event will wipe out the reds." Kane mumbled.

"Meh, I'd do her." Matt admitted without any prompt.

"Dude… she's like… what, sixteen?"

"Is she? I thought she was older…"

Kane frowned, saying "Fourteen… her record says she's fourteen… don't you read?"

"Not about her, in all honesty… so… despite her figure, she's… not even old enough to be in high school yet?"

The others collectively shook their heads.

"I remember joking about you being into younger girls, but God damn, dude."

Matt opened his mouth to protest but promptly kept quiet.

"He isn't even denying it anymore. Dude, turn yourself in."

"Yeah, sure… hey, Dave how old was your father when he married your mother?"

"Oh, don't try to change the subject."

"No, really, how old was-?"

"Matt, we get it, Kansas has a low age of consent, but we're not in Kansas anymore. We have laws and regulations that keep degenerates like you from-"

"Who are you and what are you talking about?"

The soldiers and marines turned to look at a bored looking blonde haired girl who was wearing the 104th cadet uniform.

"Nothing much, we're with the Army's 1st Brigade Mechanized infantry." Jake called.

"1st Marines… just escorting some VIPs, miss…"

The girl stared at them before getting closer and sitting down, taking a metallic cantine and drinking from it before saying anything to the Americans.

"Annie Leonhart… Sergeant Roy gave us a thirty minute break. I was a bit curious and wanted to get away from… someone."

Jake nodded in understanding.

They were quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say with a kid sitting there.

She didn't give them much time to think of anything before speaking.

"…do you guys think children should pay for the mistakes their parents made?"

"Well, dad bought a house in Jersey and if he dies _I _have to pay the mortgage until its paid in full…" Kane mumbled.

"That's not what I mean."

"Oh, we know, but I guess the answer really depends, doesn't it?" Matt sighed.

"…should the… should Germans continue to pay for what they did almost seventy years ago?" she asked.

"Nah, I don't think so. But then again, some of them are still alive… well, it's a complicated question, kid. Should their grandchildren still be forced to pay for what their grandparents did, no, but it was a pretty recent event in our world history… A lot of people still remember what happened so… anyway, why are you asking, you like the philosopher of the regiment or something?" Jake asked.

The girl was quiet for a few seconds before saying "I don't know… criminals still have to pay for what they did, right?"

The Americans mumbled something to the affirmative.

"Yeah… punishing a mass murderer is ultimately fair… the circumstances don't matter, yes?" she asked.

"What are you trying to get at?" Matt asked.

The girl chuckled slightly before standing up.

"I don't know… I was just curious, I guess."

The used her gear to quickly leave the scene.

The Americans stayed silent before Kane groaned and said "You know what the problem is with people here. Everyone is so God damn enigmatic nobody can communicate."

"In all honesty, yeah… the hell was all _that_ about?"

"Don't know, don't care… she was kinda cute, though." Dave mumbled.

He didn't complain when Matt slapped the back of his head.

…

"Alright, 104th fall in!"

_Not bad, not bad at all…_

"Alright cadets, not too shabby, you all managed to set up defensive positions about as fast as any of my units could."

_Thrice as fast, technically given how the ODM gear helps you, but who's counting?_

"So, as a reward for your good enough performance, tonight you all get to experience one of the feature length films the brass has picked out for you!"

The cadets managed something of a smile, exhausted from running and setting up defensive posts all day, and the late afternoon sun was doing them no favors.

"So… while this film may mostly serve for… educational purposes."

The only one to groan was Sasha, getting everyone to stare at the girl suddenly lying on the dirt.

"But papa, I'm _huunngryyy…_" the girl moaned, eyes closed as she seemed to

Roy hid his sudden concern, asking "Aw, hell, did she pass out?!"

Connie swiftly kicked the girl's side to no effect.

"Oh, no, she may have pushed herself too hard… somebody! Get her some food!" Connie said, worried.

Sergeant Roy narrowed his eyes and approached the girl on the floor.

"Braus, if you don't get up in the next two seconds not only will you not get any dinner, but..."

The girl sluggishly began to stand up without another word, though it was clear that she was out of it.

Roy sighed.

Burnouts were to be expected during training, especially at this age, but soldiers were meant to eventually surpass such burnouts or at least work around them.

And frankly, fainting from exhaustion really wasn't that big a deal in the military.

Roy didn't get any breaks when it happened to him, only reason he was being this patient with the girl was because… well… she was a fourteen year old girl.

"Now, if none of you actors wants to feign a heat stroke, I expect all of you to be ready for tonight. You'll be watching one of America's greatest president's struggle during our bloodiest war, and if that doesn't get you invested then by God nothing will! Dismissed!"

"Mikasa… carry meeee…"

"No."

Sasha wailed as she slowly walked behind the others back into the walled district.

"Eren, how did Jean treat you?" Mikasa asked, catching up to the grumpy teenager.

"Other than his constant whinnying he didn't do a terrible job."

The girl nodded.

"Hey, you guys have any idea what president the sergeant was talking about?" Armin asked as he caught up to the pair.

Mikasa shook her head.

"No, I thought you would know more."

Armin said "I think it could be Lincoln, but-"

"Who?" Eren asked.

"He was president during their Civil War… didn't you read about it?"

Eren thought back to it… suddenly recalling something.

"Oh, the guy who freed the slaves, yeah?" he said, snapping his fingers.

Armin nodded, saying "Well yeah… but I personally hope they show us a film about one of the Roosevelt's… I hear both of them were incredible."

"I just hope the film is calm, it's been a tough day." Mikasa sighed, ribbing the throbbing vein on her forehead.

She had seen several of the informative videos on the computers at the library, and several of those were heavily action packed recreations of large battles between armies.

After an entire day of practicing defensive positions over and over and over again, Mikasa was too tired to focus on intense combat of any kind.

Much to her chagrin, the very opening scene of the film involved soldiers in different uniforms pretty much tearing each other apart as they were using similar muskets to the ones found within the walls.

At least the movie was fairly relaxed after that.

"So… that's how they fought wars back then…" Armin gulped.

Mikasa simply looked around, noticing several of the other Americans were tuning out while the cadets were positively fascinated by the large screen.

One of the tankers was actually focusing on the odd computer like device Ymir mentioned was used by the Americans to play video games.

But then again she was more than certain that Hannah and Franz weren't exactly paying attention to the movie given how close they were.

She glanced at Eren who seemed fascinated by the film.

There was an odd feeling of… normalcy that surprised her.

It was enough to make people forget that so many had died in the district.

But that was then… now, she could at least hope for the better.

The friendly looking president on the screen seemed to emphasize that good things eventually came from the struggles.

…

"What do you mean we can't detain them?!" Ian growled at Sannes as the wagons slowly passed them.

People from the other side of the gate had arrived in the capital once more, carrying odd devices that looked like weapons as they pointed them at everything.

Were they weapons?

Perhaps not directly, but… anything could be a weapon in theory.

"You're still training, soldier. Besides, the king will give the order if he wants any of them stopped. Besides, you don't wish to go against _him _do you?"

Levi kept eyeing every MP they passed down the pristine streets of the capital with blatant contempt and distrust.

The young Interior Police officer felt his nails dig into his palm as he balled a fist as the Survey Corps captain made eye contact with him for a half second before moving on.

_That traitor wants the king to be deposed, I can just feel it! _

But he nodded, understanding that he wasn't yet ready to fight someone as skilled as the man with the title of _humanity's strongest_.

_But those strangers…_

"As you can see, the capital is much like the other districts, a trip back in time…" one of them spoke into a device, the odd object aimed right at him.

"…and emphasis on a no modern weapons policy, only allowing muskets to be carried by the military police, and with little to no civilian ownership of firearms…."

"Any of you have a message for the people across the gate?" one of the men with a slightly smaller variant of the odd devices that they kept pointing it at everything stood up and pointed it at a mix of civilians and military.

They simply waved, unsure of what to do.

Ian felt himself groan, wanting an excuse, _any _excuse to take one down, until he noticed something off about the crowd.

Everyone within it was well dressed for the most part, top hats, canes, dresses, flowers… even the obviously less fortunate civilians were dressed in acceptable attire.

Yet a single bearded man stood with a dirty cloak over his clothes behind it all.

Ian frowned, narrowed his eyes and said "Sannes, I'm going to go chat with that man."

Before his commanding officer could reply, Ian used his gear to hop to a roof and then cross the street, landing close to the bearded man, who noticed him immediately, but continued to focus on the people from the other world.

_He didn't seem to care._

"Hey, you!"

The bearded man turned to look at him and pointed at himself, seemingly confused.

"This is a formal event, take that cloak off right now."

The bearded man said "Apologies, sir, but this is all I have. I just want to-"

"Either take off that cloak or get out!" Ian ordered, civilians dispersing slightly as none wanted to get caught up in the situation.

"Apologies, sir, I'll take my leave." The man said, lowering his head, placing a hood over it, and taking his leave.

Ian winced at the fact that the man simply left.

He honestly expected more of a fight.

He _wanted _more of a fight.

_Something about the accent…_

_Any excuse…_

Noticing the man head down an alleyway, Ian began to follow him.

The man walked calmly, but seemed to be occasionally mumbling to himself.

"Crow, he isn't leaving." Ian overheard him say.

The MP frowned and quickened his pace.

The man stopped and turned around, asking "Sir, is something wrong?"

"Who are you speaking with?!"

"Sir?"

"I said, who are you speaking w-?"

A force he didn't expect suddenly pushed him to the floor.

A second hooded figure!

Now the two hooded men ran down the alley.

Furious, Ian used his gear to gain on them immediately, firing a hook into the wall at the other end of the alley, landing right in front of the two men in hoods, and in one swift motion, he unsheathed his blades.

The two men paused, neither saying a word.

"You two just assaulted a member of the Military Police. Cooperate and you may live."

The second man angrily said "Yeah, you were chasing my friend for no reason, what did you think I was going to-?"

"Quiet! Where are you two from? The Underground?"

The two men were quiet.

One of them scratched their ear.

"Do you have permission to be out here?!"

The first man moved ever so slightly to the right.

"What are you-?"

The man slammed his fist straight into his face, crashing his head against the alleyways wall, before swiftly kicking his side.

Ian collapsed to his knees.

Ian held on to his side as he felt like he had just been shot.

Both men took the opportunity to retreat down the alleyway.

Angrily he stood up, confused.

_How… quick can they… what?!_

"Ian! What the hell was that?!" Sannes demanded as he finally caught up.

The young man straightened, saying "Some people from the underground, I… I think. Must have been… tried to stab me I think, but the cowards just ran off… got me good, though."

He showed the captain his bruised side.

"Can you still move?"

The young man nodded.

"Good, never go off on your own. This is why you need to train more."

Ian nodded, suppressing the irritation.

He never once thought that his life had been in immediate danger.

Which was perfectly fine for the CIA agent, listening to the information on her earpiece as she flipped the safety back on MK18.

"Should have let us taken him. Kid was full of it, his commander was far away… could have gained some valuable intel with little risk to ourselves. Blamed it on someone else, too." Sparrow sighed.

"Yeah, but then the interior police would go crazy looking for him. Kid suspected you were people from the underground, not British or Americans, so until we get the green light, we, unfortunately, have to stay in the shadows and avoid incidents like these… hopefully we won't have to wait too long. I don't think we've fired a shot since coming in here. Damn shame, but we do have to at least try not to blow things up."

"Did the other guys manage to get to their objective at least?"

"Unfortunately, Kenny Ackerman seems to be a difficult man to find."

"Damn it…"

"On the bright side, it seems the Interior Police aren't exactly as great as they want us to believe."

Crow sighed, saying "Honestly, not as dangerous as we thought doesn't mean much when you consider their weapons and gear. Bastards are still dangerous."

She nodded.

_We'll have to choose our battles carefully._

…

"Mister Deltoffe, can you tell us about the underground city?"

The old man maintained his smile as the small group of reporters followed the advisory through the halls of the main government building.

"Ah, yes, the information I have available says that it was built by the first settlers of the walls a century ago out of fear of the damned titans breaking the walls and overrunning humanity. It was meant to be a sort of final wall if you will, as titans would have no access to it."

"Is it true that the people living down there are not treated as citizens and can be subject to prison time if they are caught above ground?" one of the reporters asked.

"I… somewhat… given that many criminals took to living under the capital, simply letting them move freely in and out of there became dangerous to the inhabitants of the capital, so the people of the Underground require more regulation in order to maintain order."

"What about asking the US for help? Wouldn't allowing US forces to police the area make it easier on your police force?"

"Uh, only medicine and other non-lethal supplies are allowed within the innermost wall. No further questions on the matter…" Deltoffe sighed.

"Right, could you explain why two men were caught trafficking humans from Wall Sina into Wall Maria?"

Erwin couldn't help but grin as the journalists from beyond the gate were actually asking important questions, forcing the advisory to stay on their toes.

"Hey, what are you smiling about?" a tired Levi asked.

"Oh, nothing much. It's just… nice to see the advisory so flustered as they try to answer what they can without looking bad."

"You're enjoying taking care of these-" Levi stopped himself.

Erwin gave the young man a puzzled look.

"Sorry, I was about to say these journalists were like children, but then I remembered we have to live with _that._"

The two men glanced at Hanji who was struggling to carry some of the papers she was about to summarize for the advisory and the military commanders, which included several new discoveries about the nape of the titans and how it functioned.

Poor Moblit tried to help her as well, carrying some, but the tired scout seemed to trip on his own superior and both dropped the reports they were carrying.

"Great…" Levi groaned, moving to help out the hapless scientist.

"Wipe that God damn smirk off your face." He muttered as he did so.

Erwin maintained a smile in spite of the captain's annoyance.

It was a beautiful day.

…

Eren placed the new tools gently by the small hole that he had just finished drilling into the cement of the wall.

Behind him, Sasha and Connie pushed the first of what would hopefully be a new line of defense for the wall.

The rubber wheels made it easy enough to carry, and as the American helicopter that dropped it off showed, the light gun was easily transported anywhere.

_To think we'll install six of these by the end of the week._

Eren grinned from ear to ear as Sasha and Connie shifted the wheeled gun so that Samuel and Mina could begin securing it to the top of the wall.

He got serious.

"Alright, come on guys, remember that this is just an experiment… from what I understand, these aren't exactly as accurate as the tanks or jets, so if we want them to be effective we need to take this next step of the training seriously." He said.

One of the men from the other world laughed as he walked over.

"Oh, come now, child, these are mostly going to be used to target practice, just like you did with the rifles… granted, live, moving targets are harder to hit, but…"

A cobra in the distance fired at a very fast moving 8 meter class, tearing it in two before finishing it off.

"Well, the Americans like their big guns."

Feeling curious, Eren turned to the German, asking "So how's your country like? I hear its very similar to… pretty much most territory within the walls, but…"

The German looked up from the paper he was reading, saying "Well, its… it _is _a bit warmer than my home state of Schleswig-Holstein."

Eren wanted to say the man had just made the name up, but Connie beat him to it.

"Who named an entire state like that? Sounds kind of dumb." the teen huffed.

"Connie, if you don't hold it in place… come on, man." Samuel groaned as the pair continued to secure the cannon.

The German was silent as he continued to read the information on the paper.

"Alright… that should do it, actually. Make sure it's held tight, I'm going to go check on the other firing points."

"Kind of a quiet bunch, aren't they?" Sasha asked.

"Their country started a huge war back in the day and lost it… I would be pretty depressed even if I was born a whole century later." Samuel said as he stood up, wiping his brow.

"That's not right… shouldn't be right, anyways. It's like being a slave to the past." Eren replied.

"Yeah, but… look man, we both read the book, they did some heinous things back then."

"No, their _ancestors_ did. Blaming the kids for something a parent or grandparent did is just… evil."

_We're born free… didn't you learn that after the movie?_

Samuel noticed anger in the eyes of the teenager, which immediately disappeared when Mina said "Uh, hey guys look who it is!"

Ymir climbed quickly over the top of the wall and glanced behind her before running up to the other cadets.

"Oh, look who it is… Don't know why you bothered showing up, our job's about done." Connie called.

"Yeah, Ymir, you just vanished on us. Where'd you go?"

The girl kept glancing behind her, even if there was nothing to either side apart from the Marine Cobras patrolling the area.

"I was just… taking a little something." she said, swelling with pride.

"If you got us something from the cafeteria, all will be forgiven." Sasha replied with a mad glint in her eyes.

Ymir grinned and reached into her jacket.

The cadets gaped as she had in her hand the portable video game console one of the Americans had been seen playing with.

"Did… did you just steal-?" Mina managed to stammer out.

"I just borrowed it. That Ryan kid has such a stick shoved up his ass I figured he needed to loosen up a little. Besides, it's not like I won't give it back to him." she said, hiding it back under her jacket.

"Whatever, just help finish tightening this bolt, I don't care if you stole an aircraft, I am not taking the fall for not fixing this up properly." Samuel said, standing up.

"I thought you guys were done."

"That would be inaccurate. Now get to it so that we can head back down."

The girl groaned and moved towards the new gun, something the Americans called an M119 Howitzer.

Eren smiled slightly and glanced around.

The tiny radio they all carried on their shoulders occasionally picked up the Marine helicopters patrolling above.

He heard a slightly garbled "Cobra 2, see anything?"

"Negative, skies are clear, grounds clear. Looks like a perfectly boring day."

"Cobra 2, please refrain from screwing us over by tempting fate."

Eren looked at the district that had been destroyed almost 5 years prior.

From where he was he could see the remains of his old home.

He winced at the painful memory of his mother urging him and Mikasa to run away.

He closed his eyes for a second and opened them again.

_That was then… this is now._

He saw the mostly empty motor pool in the distance, the Abrams out on patrol despite the area being already secure.

_Oh, yeah, they're escorting some supply convoy…_

He glanced at the rifle he now carried, as did everyone in the 104th by this point.

He stared at the new cannon his team, his friends, finished securing in place.

He looked at the areas still broken within Shiganshina.

It would still be some time before it was all fixed up like back in the day, and it would never truly look the same.

But the time to run was over.

No longer was there a need to hide behind the walls like cattle.

No longer would they be under the titan's mercy.

Eren smiled.

_Our counterattack has already begun! _

"Hey, Yeager, we're about done, so if you could stop spacing out-"

A bright flash of light behind the cadets immediately got their attention.

Like a cruel god, the massive, skinless, face of the Colossal Titan stared blankly at the six cadets from above.

They only had a second to turn to look at it before a powerful shockwave sent the teenagers flying off the wall's edge.

_What?! What was-?!_

Eren barely reacted in time, relying solely on instinct to shoot the hooks on his ODM gear at the only target they could reach, the face of the wall.

Eren almost slammed into it as he regained his composure.

Mina and Samuel barely managed to do so without dropping their own rifles.

Connie was staring at the floor as his rifle fell to the ground.

Eren could only hear panicked voices on the radio, unable to make out the words.

Ymir was the first to react, screaming "The gate! Don't let him break-"

A powerful crashing sound erupted from beneath them as the reinforced gate appeared to be kicked in.

Nobody smiled as the metal shutters the Americans had installed months prior held their position which gave them hope that the attack had failed.

They all went pale as the shutters simply slid down from where they were, as if the attack had removed them from their foundation, effectively making it a gigantic door that had no framing to hold it in place.

Connie began to stammer, but the voices on the radio spoke for him.

"Shiganshina district has been breached- I say again, Shiganshina has been breached!"

"Oh God… No, God, please… not again…" Mina whimpered.

Eren felt a rush of adrenaline.

_It's just… it's exactly like five years ago…_

The explosion, the Colossal Titan, its sudden attack, the inexplicable way it appeared…

_That was then… this is now!_

"God damn it! Why are you all frozen in place?! Our Target is _right there! _Don't let it get away!" Eren shouted as he began to use his ODM gear to rush back to the top of the wall to meet the enemy.

The American helicopters seemed to have regained their brief composure as the men began to talk in order again.

"…back, pull back and engage from a thousand meters…"

"Copy, getting into position…"

There was smoke… or was it steam?

Adding a little extra gas, Eren flew through it, emerging above the white cloud, easily locating the wall, he landed a few meters to the left of the monster.

It was surrounded, and one of the cobras flew close enough that the steam cleared away, revealing his position to the enemy, but he didn't care.

He didn't even care that the giant was shifting its attention from the attack choppers to him.

"In position…" the radio crackled.

"Copy, hold and engage from current position, one thousand meters, with twenty millimeter rounds in three… two…"

Eren flipped the safety off the Garand rifle and said "Hey… it's been a while."

"…one! Light him up!"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, first of all, to clarify the opening scene, it was just to explain why the gate opened up to connect our world to the world of Attack on Titan (specifically why it opened up in New York and not Ginza like the main series) while also acknowledging the original Gate cannon happened a long time ago, what with Rory taking Hardy's position and control of the Gate. I kind of wanted to reveal it a little ways down the road, but having her mysteriously appear here and there felt unnecessary, so I figured I might as well explain who she is here.**

**Anyway, I wanted this chapter to be a sort of "calm before the storm type" given what's coming next, also use it to characterize some of the others a little more, hopefully it was okay and fun to read. Not sure if I forgot something, because I somehow always manage to forget some little detail here or there, so please let me know.**

**Anyway, let's do a quick Reviewer Response before moving on:**

**Guest- Curse of Ymir being real.**

**Probably, I had completely forgotten about Eren Krueger getting sick near the end of his 13 years, but then again, Grisha didn't seem to get sick, so… well, the manga ending can't be too far off at this point. Hopefully it will give some more specifications. Once we know a little more then maybe we can try to have modern medicine try to break it. We'll see.**

**Guest- Warriors changing sides?**

**We'll see…**

**Guest- Earth weaponizing the Eldians? Also will the secret of the basement be revealed?**

**I doubt the US would actively use the eldians as titans since A) technically it's a form of biological warfare, which is pretty illegal, and B) the way to go about it would horrify everyone from Washington DC to Pyongyang as I doubt even North Korea would be okay with the process.**

**As for the secret of the basement… we'll find out soon enough.**

**Guest- will people from Paradis migrate to earth and vice versa? Also is the dark haired woman Hardy?**

**Not at the moment, but I'm sure it will happen eventually so long as no mass extinction happens on Paradis.**

**As for Hardy... well, you weren't far off, but hopefully the answer in this chapter makes sense.**

**Guest- Will you be introducing video games to the cadets?**

**Sort of… originally I wanted to write a gag similar to that scene where Sasha steals meat in episode 5, only with a different character, so I couldn't have Ymir steal an entire PlayStation and just walk around with it, so I went with a Nintendo Switch… sorry about that.**

**Guest- Showing the cadets a documentary?**

**I implied it with the computers in the library on this chapter, though I didn't go into much detail.**

**Guest- Happily ever after for Mina?**

**I don't know if she would move out into the US or not, but… we'll see.**

**Guest- Will the US learn Secret of the Basement?**

**We'll see…**

**Guest- Will there be live footage from paradis shown to our side? Also, will the cadets be taught to use our war machines?**

**Maybe recorded as a lot of the filming would be quite awkward without the proper infrastructure. It might happen eventually, though. As for the cadets learning to drive around in tanks and jets… maybe eventually, but certainly not right now. The US is focusing on bettering their training by combining some modern elements with their old regiment. **

**Joe- Does the US know about the underground city?**

**Thank you for reminding me because I COMPLETELY forgot about that place even existing. I kind of hand wave it here as the capital not communicating and everyone else being too busy to focus on that, but yeah… it will certainly add to the already unstable relationship with the nobility. Thank you for pointing that out!**

**Guest- schools after Paradis is modernize?**

**Most likely, but you could assume some of them are getting an education from the US simply by being trained by them. **

**Guest- introducing MREs to the cadets.**

…**oops… probably should have mentioned that in a previous chapter. Thanks for pointing it out, though! So far the US seems to be giving them the regular food you would find at any Army base, though, so maybe later (though I would assume they would at least know about them by now)**

**Guest- Eren's power?**

**We'll see… very soon.**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for reading this latest chapter! I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions, though I reiterate that as is I am focusing solely on writing this fic, so while I love reading your suggestions, I can't guarantee I will be writing anything else for a while. **

**Also thank you so much for pointing things out when I miss them!**

**That said, remember that all reviews and suggestions are greatly appreciated, and if anything feels off please let me know so that I can improve my writing. **

**Thank you once again for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Chokepoint**

* * *

It stared, unblinking, at the physical barrier in front of it.

No humanity emanated from the eyes the size of satellite dishes, but it knew that there was food in that direction, beyond the impossibly solid barrier that stood in front of it.

It didn't know how it knew there was release if it got past it; it just knew that it was there somewhere.

Somewhere, within its dried skin and artificial muscles, the remains of what might have once been an intelligent being managed to spark something resembling a thought.

_Move to the left a little…_

The monster did so, not feeling much difference in staring at the looming structure that blocked its path.

It didn't care.

It continued staring at the wall as it had, day in, day out, for who knows how long.

Then the monster felt something different, as did the many others that were around it.

The ground seemed to vibrate ever so slightly; the air had subtly been altered as well, as if… something had changed.

Something was beckoning them to head… east.

As one, the horde tilted to their right and with loud heavy footsteps, began to move towards Shiganshina.

…

Eren immediately, albeit a little reluctantly, began to move away from the area he knew would have incoming ordinance as fast as he could.

Even if it was aimed high above him, he knew already that you want to be _behind _the mouth of death that is the barrel of a gun, and while he hadn't seen them in action yet, he knew that the Attack Helicopters in the distance were titan killers.

And if those guns were anywhere near as destructive as the few he had trained with…

He ducked down the second he heard what sounded like someone was loudly and mechanically clapping their hands.

Turning to look at the enemy, he saw yellowish tracer rounds fly into it as it tried lifting its arms to cover its weak point, smoke obscuring the damage but clearly demonstrating how much the rounds were impacting the monster.

"Good effect on target… All stations atop Wall Maria begin vacating the area, I say again, evacuate the area."

Eren heard on the small radio on his person.

He picked it up.

"This is Yeager, evacuating…" he said, glaring at the beast that was quickly losing parts of its face as the rounds slammed into it like a high pressured stream of water.

He gripped the Garand, considering to fire at the neck, pointless as it might have been.

There were four Cobras, two were concentrating their chain guns on the face, blinding the Colossal Titan, while the others were carefully targeting the neck, and pretty soon the head of the colossal titan would simply fall from the damages despite the massive arms attempting to cover its weak point.

Giant or not, it was made out of flesh and bone, and as the futile attempt at covering his neck by placing its arms up to try and block the heavy rounds demonstrated, 20 millimeter rounds cared very little for stopping upon hitting flesh or bone.

The monster would soon be dead.

Eren wanted to cheer but was distracted by the desperate pleads coming from nearby.

It was the German engineer, barely holding on to the edge of the wall.

Eren ran to the man, grabbing his hand when a surprisingly powerful wind akin to an explosion sent him reeling over the edge along with the German.

Once again on instinct, Yeager aimed his ODM gear and hooked himself to the wall, the German barely holding on to him as he almost slammed them into the wall.

The man kept breathing heavily, as color slowly returned to his face.

Meanwhile the radio began to chatter again.

"What the hell?! Someone got it?"

"Too much smoke, could be a diversion of sorts."

"Switch to thermal imaging, if it's trying to run- wait a second… that's steam…nothing on thermal."

"Damn it! Cobra 3 moving in to get a closer look!"

Eren glanced above, seeing the gigantic cloud of steam coming from the top of the wall.

Almost disregarding the engineer holding onto him, Yeager gunned it up the wall, feeling the heat as he got to the top.

The Cobra flew in, its powerful rotors doing away with the cloud of steam to reveal…

Nothing.

Eren stared at the empty space where the skinless abomination had just been not ten seconds prior. He could see the horizon and fields beyond the wall, he could see the silhouettes of a few slow moving titans behind some hills, and he could see the blue sky that had been obscured by the red face of the giant.

But the giant itself was gone with the wind that dissipated the smoke.

_What the hell?_

The engineer sat on the firm cement, breathing heavily, shaking like crazy as Eren heard his fellow cadets finally get to the top, all of them moving far more cautiously than he would have liked them to, but it seemed like it wouldn't have mattered much.

Ymir was the exception as she moved quickly to the edge of the wall and stared down, a look of panic in her eyes.

"Did… did anyone see where the hell it ran off to?!" she shouted just as the radio crackled again.

"Cobra Actual, target is gone, I have no visual contact… target is gone."

Eren felt his nails dig into his palm, almost drawing blood, as he cursed under his breath.

"It just vanished?!" Connie shouted as he ran up to the edge and looked over it, still unable to comprehend how that had just happened.

"Uh… maybe they killed it? Titans disappear when they die, so maybe this one was just that big and… and maybe it's actually dead?" Sasha asked as she moved to glance over the edge as well, forcing a smile.

"Damn it… damn it all, this is… this is just like five years ago! How the hell can they just-" Eren was cut off as the radio crackled to life.

"All cadets report to the barracks, I repeat, all cadets report to barracks right now!"

_Shadis…_

The commandant was still able to instill a level of fear and dread in the young cadets that Eren shut up and moved to evacuate.

It was Samuel that asked "Wait, wait, wait- w-what do you we do with…?"

The German engineer had simply sat down and begun staring at the horizon.

"Uh… hey, maybe we can carry him?"

_He's taller and heavier than all of us, though…_

The German shrugged, saying "Uh, you kids can go ahead… I will try to walk to the other side of the district from up here, maybe I'll get picked up by one of the helicopters later, I have my walkie- my radio if anything happens… be careful out there."

Eren simply said "Yeah, we have to get moving… God knows how long before the titans notice and the choppers run out of ammo or fuel."

_This is what we trained for… just remember that much…_

As they hopped down from the wall, the memory of his mother's final moments materialized in his mind.

The young woman had briefly resisted the voracious monster that devoured her, uselessly striking at the hands that lifted her to its mouth before it-

_Not again... Never again!_

…

The warrior almost crashed through the wooden wall of a decrepit old house as he sought shelter to heal his injuries and hide from the (hopefully) panicked Americans.

He stared at the gaping hole on his side, steam obscuring the severity of the injury, but the pain he was feeling in spite of the adrenaline rush made it clear that it was bad.

He knew he would be dead if it wasn't for the regenerative powers of the titans.

He was just thankful the ODM gear he had used didn't get damaged.

He waited for the flesh to heal as he remembered the maddened look on his leader's eyes when he had given him the order that previous night.

_You want me to- here? Here and now?! _

_Tomorrow, catch them by surprise, kick down the gate, and use steam to hide your escape. Make them think they killed the colossal._

_But why now?_

_I heard officers talking about how they're getting supplies from their main base to refill the barracks, so the tanks will be out of reach, long enough to… to do what we need to do._

As he began to feel relatively better, physically speaking that is, he couldn't help but scowl at the Warrior who had made himself their leader.

Yes, the Americans seemed to be getting closer to finding out the truth, and if what the three of them had uncovered recently was anything to go by, then not only was there no negotiating with them, they would probably face summary execution for their actions.

_Crimes against humanity…_

The warrior couldn't help but chuckle at that thought.

_I thought we were devils…_

He pushed himself to get up and glance outside.

The window was dusty and the angle was off, but he found what he needed to see.

He managed to see the cadets jump from the top of the wall just as the last Cobras flew over it, most likely to search and destroy what titans they could before they had to refuel and everything went to hell.

He pushed the guilt he was feeling down as he began to move back to the headquarters.

He didn't know how much more of that he could take.

With a quick glance around, the Warrior placed the somewhat burned hood over his head to hide his identity.

They knew the Americans had eyes in parts of the district, at least on the entrance, but cautious as they were, the warriors had decided to keep their faces hidden by using a raincoat; keep them from being found out should anyone see them.

Surely, American security cameras weren't all that different. Their record keeping would be a bigger problem, however. Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait too long.

_Assuming I __**don't**__ die immediately, what is knocking down the wall going to accomplish?_

_A distraction... We need to confirm who else here is a titan and we need a distraction to get away, so… when we get the chance we take them and run._

The Warrior sighed.

_Obviously, he isn't considering their Aircraft anymore…or maybe he is?_

Even as he pulled back, he could hear the chatter of the helicopters engaging targets. The attack choppers would run out of fuel eventually, needing to land…

The beasts outside were starving, and in knocking down the gate, the Warrior had essentially rung the dinner bell.

Just like last time…

The teenager slowed down and stopped, staring at the dirt road under him.

Ruined buildings that hadn't been fixed yet surrounded him. Wood, glass, and stones stared back at him in utter silence, yet he felt as if the inanimate objects were questioning why he had done the same thing yet again.

He had caused this.

He could have objected, resisted more.

But he was just a kid, he didn't know any better.

He moved to the side to vomit profusely as he imagined the horrors he had directly inflicted on a population that, in all honesty, had never done anything to him.

_Just bear with it… just bear with it for now… just a little longer… _

The mission was almost over if the strongest warrior was to be believed.

…

Hill Zero One was as peaceful as it could be.

General Connor smiled slightly at the _very _fast progress on the runway construction at Hill Zero One.

Pretty soon they could bring larger aircraft, not just ones that had VTOL capabilities. Scouting ahead and spying on a certain someone would be easier, as would be dealing with enemy incursions should the colossal or armored titans reappear.

He glanced at the squadron of Marine Harriers from the 2nd air wing, diligently being fixed up by their dedicated crew. The old jets stood proudly next to the Army Blackhawks that had arrived recently.

It was a quiet day, and if asked, he would have admitted that he felt kind of optimistic.

Before the thought could finish forming Mike Zacharias appeared to materialize to his left, as if someone had just transported him there in an instant.

"The sealed gate was destroyed by the colossal titan."

The general could only blink in disbelief for a few seconds.

_Something that big should have set the sensors off long before it got to the wall. Those kids said there was a major explosion when he appeared, but…_

Connor glanced behind him at the gate, a structure that also seemingly appeared without any warning.

_Damn it all…_

"Tell the flyboys to ready all available gunships, get those Harriers prepped up ASAP, and someone get a message to the inner wall!" he barked into his radio as he began walking back to his office.

He cursed the fact that even if they were ready and deployed right there and then, it would still be a couple of hours until their helicopter air support reached Shiganshina.

_They'll have to make do with the Cobras they have on hand… God help them._

…

Ryan stared at the poster of a certain famous woman on the inside of the tank, too bored to do much else.

He was the loader on the main gun of an M1A2 Abrams that had "Harvester" written on it in large black lettering on the main gun.

It was an in joke as all the crewmembers of this particular M1A2 were, in fact, sons of farmers that lived in Iowa, Wyoming, and Missouri.

_Nobody tell the jarheads, they hopefully think it's more of a harvester of souls…_

Unlike many of its Russian rivals, the M1 Abrams all still used a human loader to reload a shell instead of using an automatic loader to handle it. This decision had a sound logic to it, as it spared parts and material as well as time if the thing broke, and it wouldn't leave the tank useless if there was a malfunction.

However, since combat had been sparse ever since the titans within Wall Maria had been all but wiped from existence, the loader and the gunner didn't have too much to do anymore.

All Ryan had to do was stand around in the cabin, listening to engine as he entertained himself with whatever he had brought from the main base.

It didn't exactly make the job easier or less boring.

To make matters worse, he hadn't found his Switch earlier in the day.

"Martinez, if I find it in your bag…" he mumbled just loud enough for his friend to hear.

"Dude, shut up, I didn't touch your precious Zelda game, why would I _want_ it?"

"Because your family doesn't love you." he replied.

"Those letters your sister sent tell a different-"

"Both of you just shut it! We have a bit of a drive left, so save that for later." the commander spat back, ducking back into the turret.

"Hey, Darnell, if he actually stole Ryan's things, can we get his brown ass out of our tank? And can we send Ryan along with him?" the driver asked.

"_Hey_, I'm whiter than you!" Martinez spat back.

"So, Darnell?"

"Well now, that's a fine question… I say-"

A voice came over the radio and the commander ordered the platoon of Abrams to stop.

"-breached! I say again, Wall Maria has been breached!"

The men in the tank paled as they heard the news.

"Cobras currently engaging titans, all members of 1st armored are to report to the main entrance… instructions to follow, standby-"

Ryan felt a weight fall on his shoulders as the commander ordered all tanks to return to Shiganshina immediately.

The four Abrams obediently turned as ordered and began to move back to try to defend the district, the supply convoy would have to get there without them.

_So much for being bored… damn it all._

…

The Headquarters was in a chaotic mess as staff ran from one place to the other.

Shadis observed the table with a map of the district as Colonel Parker and several other officers drew points in red ink, nervously reminding each other of the situation.

"We have plenty of ammo left here, but the cobras-"

"Yeah, I know, I know… God damn it, _how_ many are coming from the north and south?!" he asked nervously.

An Army engineer turned from his monitor with a pale look in his eyes before straightening and saying "A lot sir… lowest estimate I can give you is around three hundred of them."

They were coming from the flanks of the district.

It had been the case for a while, mostly titans would be coming from the west but every now and then the accumulated masses from the opposite ends of the walls would sense humans on the Shiganshina district, fresh meat, and would move to try and devour them.

The Cobras squadron had done a good enough job keeping the main horde at bay, but the arrival of the Colossal titan appeared to have sent them all in a frenzy as the drone showed the mass of titanic bodies running towards the now exposed district.

_A lot of runners…_

"God, okay- get Cobra three and four to intercept, one and two will keep watch over the breached wall, I- God damn it is everyone accounted for yet?!" Parker demanded of the young Army captain that had run into the room.

Shadis glanced at the young man, who appeared exhausted.

"Colonel, 1st armored is turning around but they're still twenty minutes out, the supply convoy will arrive ten minutes after that, and…" the American captain took a breath before saying "And Hill Zero One will provide Air Support in two hours. Only Harriers available were in the middle of a checkup when they got the alert."

Shadis felt his nails dig into his hands as he realized that the titans would likely enter the district by the time the Cobras refueled.

Parker simply nodded and turned to the map they had drawn.

"No choice then… Commandant, get the 104th to fall in… we don't have much time."

Shadis nodded and stepped out of the makeshift command center.

…

The eerie whine of the alarm made it impossible for Jean to concentrate as he tried to make his way through the controlled chaos of Americans moving things around.

He saw two Marines pick up a large crate and simply tear it open, removing some kind of large tube that he figured was some kind of weapon similar to a portable cannon, but he wasn't sure.

He was startled as a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"R-Reiner, I- oh, sorry…"

Bertholdt.

_He looks like he has just been through hell. Dumb bastard can't even- hey!_

"Whoa- hey! What happened to you?!" Jean asked as the young man collapsed to the floor.

"I-I'm alright, just…" the tall cadet tried to lie until a certain blonde kneeled down next to him.

"Here, drink this! We're all scared, but we have to work together if… if we want to…" Christa nervously handed him a bottle of water, which the tall teenager took immediately and started gulping it down.

"T-thank you…" he said after taking a breath.

As if on cue, Ymir appeared with a bashful gleam in her eyes.

_She seems out of breath, like she just ran over here…_

"Uh… hey, Christa, I'm pretty terrified too…" she mumbled.

The dark haired girl ignored the looks of disbelief everyone was giving her.

"Y-yeah, you focus on Ymir, I… I need to tell Reiner something…"

"Bertholdt you look like you're about to faint!" Christa protested.

"Yeah, but the water helped. I feel much better now…"

"Christa…I feel like I might faint too…" Ymir mumbled.

Only Jean heard her.

He would have been more irritated if he didn't have more things to worry about such as the fact that he had no orders and didn't know where Mikasa had run off to.

_Was she just as scared? And Eren is probably out rallying the troops… I'll find her and-_

"Fall in line, maggots!"

The sudden shrill actually stopped all activity in the barracks as both the Americans and the cadets turned to look at Shadis.

The Americans forced themselves to ignore the call to fall in line as they had work to do and the man was specifically calling the 104th.

Jean was almost first in line, cursing the fact that he was there when he saw Mikasa run alongside Marco of all people into formation.

_How is Marco somehow…?! Never mind…_

The two had been put in a team, right?

"Private, are you alive?!" Shadis screaming brought him back into reality.

Bertholdt shifted to full attention, although he still looked like he might faint.

"Alright, all of you have trained a fair bit with your weapons; all of you know the basic rules of engagement… with that said you all need to listen carefully if you want to make it out of here alive!"

Jean felt the color drain from his face as he heard the commandant say "We will be engaging the titans in the next twenty minutes."

…

"Move, kyle!" Karina ordered as she glanced at the Survey Corps members directing the evacuating engineers and non-combatants through the main entrance.

Unfortunately for her medical team, they would need to establish themselves just outside the wall in order to receive the injured.

She glanced at the supplies she was carrying.

_God, let this be enough…_

"Keep calm! Move in an orderly fashion!" a girl in a green coat ordered as the non-combatants moved aside.

She felt the ground vibrate beneath her slightly, turning in time to see the tanks of the 1st armored move towards the entrance, the Abrams main gun staring ahead.

A young man glanced from the top of the tank at her.

His worried look said it all.

She could only pray it would be enough.

Deep into the district, a fair distance from the barracks, on top of the long abandoned and still damaged buildings that had once been the homes of the citizens of Shiganshina, stood the first line of defense.

Connie gripped the M1 Garand before peeking over the edge as he could hear the booming footsteps of the confused monsters moving in the distance.

_All of you know what happened here, some of you saw it firsthand…_

He glanced at Samuel who tightly gripped the Browning and sucked in a breath.

Mina shakily placed the munitions next to him.

_So you all know what is at stake here and understand why you must fight._

The smiling monstrosities in the distance were advancing somewhat slowly as the homes made a somewhat effective blockade, but the cadets knew the monsters could sense them and were steadily making their way towards them.

_I know we are asking much of you, but we need to buy time for our air support to arrive, so a ground engagement and defense of Shiganshina will be necessary._

Remembering the plan, Connie lifted his hand into the air up and closed it, balling a fist.

_The enemy is deadly, but unintelligent, remember that._

Across other homes, the same action was taken by other machine gun nests, the titans taking notice rather quickly, their inhuman grins almost widening as they somehow detected the miniscule gestures in the distance.

_And remember that you are not fighting alone today._

From the top of the castle walls that had once been the Garrison outpost in Shiganshina, Sergeant Roy lowered his binoculars and spat the piece of gum he was chewing.

The titans had entered the first kill zone and were moving in on the first line of defense.

"Alright, let's not let these kids down. Mark your targets and _**FIRE**_!"

From the top of the castle that was now the main center of the barracks, eight teams of Marine and Army personnel had set up as many BGM-71 TOW missiles.

Wire-guided, an effective range of 3,000 meters, and just as deadly, the anti-tank missiles left behind a trail of smoke as the American teams fired at targets within range from the fort.

Connie and Mina saw the trail of smoke of the missiles fly above them and gaped as they saw one slam into a titan, knocking it down immediately, Samuel too focused and nervous on manning the gun to turn to look above him.

The titans that had been behind the ones that perished didn't appear to care one bit for their fallen comrade as they stepped over it. Several almost looked overjoyed that they were now the closest giant to getting something to eat, blissfully ignorant of the fact that others were going down as well.

Mina shouted "Samuel!"

The response she got was a loud, consistent thumping sound as the century old machine gun demonstrated why it was still used in the present day.

Connie glanced to his left, noticing the other machine gun teams opening fire; he admired the yellow tracer rounds that occasionally flew at the monsters, creating a beam of death; a knife that would cut through the flesh of the advancing giants.

He tightened his grip on his rifle, knowing full well that even if a titan got close enough for him to score a one hit kill, the rule was to pull back immediately, so he would have to be careful, but a part of him knew that things wouldn't be so easy.

He could only hope the plan worked as he glanced behind him, the trail of smoke from the barracks dissipating immediately.

He prayed it wasn't indicative of their chances of surviving the battle.

More missiles flew out of the barracks as a response, cutting down more of the giants.

Within the barracks, the situation was just as organized as it was chaotic.

"How are we doing on rounds?!" a soldier shouted from his vehicle.

"Got any more AP?"

"Nah, it's all headed to Alamo, just have the normal rounds here."

"Good enough! They can only hold them for so long, so let's get what we can!" another shouted as he moved as fast as he could to drop off several boxes of ammo into a Humvee.

Mikasa wasn't aware as to why the third and technically final line of defense was being referred to as "Alamo" but she really didn't care.

Men raced to finish packing the munitions they would need for the third and technically final line of defense in Shiganshina at "Alamo", and Mikasa navigated seamlessly through it all, searching for someone.

Most of the vehicles had already evacuated the motor pool near the barracks and were headed to the main entrance, but several still remained.

Marine HMVs were set up with their own Browning .50 caliber machine guns, as were the few Marine MRAPs that were on the motor pool. The sound of gunfire, missiles being launched, and explosions ringing in the distance, she moved forward.

_No sign of him…_

She noticed at least one Humvee was being equipped with a TOW launcher, the titan killing weapon Mikasa recognized was being used to support the first line of defense. She paid little mind to it as she continued looking around, somewhat desperately, for her-

She stopped.

What _was _Eren to her?

He wasn't technically her brother, even if they were as close as siblings.

Close family, yes, but she considered this as she stared at a strange circle of American soldiers, heads bowed in what appeared to be prayer.

She specifically stared at the nervous pair of cadets that were seemingly participating in the prayer; the same pair that everyone suspected of getting into trouble with an American officer for "unsanctioned nighttime activities". The bustling barracks around her almost vanished from her mind, her head aching slightly, as a part of her wished for… for what?

She wanted to keep Eren safe, same as Armin, but there was something else and she didn't know if telling him would make it better or-

"Mikasa, here!"

The call brought her back to reality as she turned to face Marco.

The dark haired youth had carried both his rifle as well as the M107 anti-material rifle she would be putting to good use in a few minutes.

_In theory…_

She nodded, grabbing it and flinging it on her shoulder as Marco reached into a pack, handing her some ammunition.

"I got these loaded as fast as I could… the other guys are freaking out in there, I-"

"Thank you; is Eren alright?" she asked in the commanding tone she simply didn't have time.

The young man nodded, saying "Yeah, Jean and him are loading up on ammo at the armory, it-"

"Thank you, let's go."

Marco sputtered something as she walked past him, heading to the armory.

He forced himself not to groan aloud and gave chase. The girl was an enigma when it came to her obsession with the short tempered Yeager, although he could somewhat understand her attachment.

_Still, the way she follows him around…_

Marco had never met the titans head on like they had, now he worried the experience is what scarred her into chasing after the usually grumpy teenager like a lost puppy.

Like most in his generation, he shoved the thoughts aside and went on to do his duty, which at the moment meant following Mikasa around like a lost puppy himself.

Inside the armory, however, he remembered that the cadets carrying the rifles that didn't have the spyglass mounted on top, the modified Garands, were those that were excellent shots with them regardless.

Sasha was smiling childishly as she loaded a clip into hers, spouting something about "a big hunt" to a visibly shaking Bertholdt.

"Eren! Are you okay?"

Marco turned to look at his nervous partner and the center of her attention.

Yeager was aggressively packing a third magazine for the anti-material rifle, a somewhat shaken look in his eyes.

Curious, Marco got closer, trying to hear over the commotion.

"It looked at me, Mikasa, I swear it looked right at me…"

"The colossal?" Marco asked, fully aware he was butting in, but he wanted a distraction from the organized chaos surrounding him.

Eren simply nodded without turning to look directly at them.

"Add to it the fact that it struck when there was a nearby horde of titans, and even found the time to knock down that new cannon… those bastards aren't all dumb and brainless…"

It took but a second for Marco to realize the implication.

If titans weren't all dumb, then it wasn't impossible to assume had some small level of intelligence.

The abnormal types had always existed, but…

_A titan that could think?_

If a titan could think, it could plan, and if it could plan, it could potentially form a strategy… and if it could form a strategy…

A chill went up his spine as he considered it.

"That only means we have to fight even harder than before. We can't get complacent just because our weapons are a bit more powerful than before, _right_?" he shouted that last part for the rest of the cadets to hear.

No one really replied.

He didn't care, slinging the heavy rifle over his shoulder.

"Eren… if things begin to get dangerous-"

"Mikasa, I don't need you babysitting me and I don't need you distracted!"

"I-"

"Listen! I _need_ you to be ready to fight! We all do… you read the same books, we don't win wars by abandoning our duties!"

The girl blinked, noting that the teenager was, in his own way, worried.

Worried about her specifically? Maybe not, but still…

She nodded simply.

"Right, _come on, everyone_! We have to get ready to do our part!"

"Jean, that means you too!" Sasha shouted across the room.

"Ack!" the pained yelp came from a desk where Jean had been loading a clip into the Garand.

He had actually been startled when the rifle appeared to _bite _him as he quickly loaded the ammo into it once he was done reassembling it.

Normally, Eren would have smiled or at least felt the need to do so. But he couldn't.

Not when a repeat of history appeared to be happening before his very eyes.

Not when a successful defense of the district required everyone do their part.

_I have to look to the future, I can't look to the past now!_

Especially not when Armin was already doing his part...

The young, yellow haired teenager was actually surprised at how busy he was doing his part of keeping the .50 caliber machine gun firing; to the point that fear wasn't really on his mind.

One had to hand it to the designers of the Shiganshina district; the way the streets were put together left the titans not enough routes to reach the few humans inside, slowing their advance significantly.

What Armin could see as Reiner quickly began firing the .50 again, was that unlike the attack almost five years prior, without the thousands of people to cause the giants to spread out through the city, looking everywhere for a meal, these titans were following a fairly straight forward path towards their perceived next meal.

With only a few spreading apart through the mostly narrow streets, the horde of humanoid monstrosities were advancing towards them through a relatively straight path that made them somewhat easy to take out from the maximum range on the M2 Browning's.

Armin finally appreciated just how the 6 machine gun nests that were engaging the titans there and then were not just acting as a forward defense, but as bait to lure the enemy into a designated kill zone.

The titans were almost packed into one of the major streets in the district, allowing for the majority of the monsters to slowly move forward, only focusing on the nearby human targets.

While not a chokepoint in the sense many would assume, and certainly not as good as stopping them at the entrance, it was the best they could manage as they were.

As Reiner immediately began firing the heavy machine gun once more, Armin observed the glowing tracer rounds that shot towards the advancing titans like lightning, combining with the glowing rounds from the other machine gun nests.

One particularly skinny 15 meter class titan saw its head topple as the rounds slammed its neck, acting almost like a razor wire as the uncaring being continued walking forward despite the hot led literally cutting his neck in two.

"G-guys!"

Daz had replaced Eren, a choice Armin understood. Now Armin held on to the extra ammo and helped Reiner reload while Daz carried the tripod and acted as a lookout with the binoculars.

Armin glanced down the street and saw an almost skeletal five meter class titan lumber forward, as if it had been pushed ahead by the shockwave of the larger 15 meter collapsing dead to the floor.

"I see it, guys, we see a five meter class titan moving down the main street now." Armin stated somewhat nervously, speaking into the radio.

Surprisingly, he managed to avoid stuttering.

The problem with the heavy machine guns was that once it was set up, adjusting it for height and elevation could be somewhat complicated when it was being fired from the ground, or in this case, a slanted rooftop; so in theory it was easier to have the machine gunners focus on the larger titans while their support focused on the smaller targets that managed to push ahead in the large horde.

"Yeah, got it, let's kill it!" Thomas shouted over the radio, the reply followed almost immediately by rifle fire.

The modified M1 Garand's immediately proved their worth as the large creature was riddled with holes the size of tennis balls before someone got a hit on the vital spot, completely destroying the neck.

Daz actually laughed out loud, and Armin could have sworn he heard Connie shout out in celebration as the 8 meter slowly vanished into smoke.

_With weapons like these… maybe we can hold them here for as long as-_

The radio finally crackled to life from the Americans at the Barracks, and the confidence Armin and the rest of the cadets around him had had but a second earlier was drained away.

Armin had read a fair bit about the First World War, men charged fortified positions and trenches, moving across open ground as machine guns tore into them, mowed them down.

The book mentioned that many thought it was proof that large scale wave attacks that only relied on the advantage of numbers were made obsolete there and then.

But then the Second World War came.

Armin had read about the German invasion of the then called Soviet Union, now known as the Russian Federation, and how titanic a struggle it had been for them to stop the German advance.

Twenty Million men, women and children, dead.

While not bad tacticians, the book mentioned that in some cases, the only choice the Russians had was to charge directly at the enemy in large numbers and just have the men "soak up the bullets" until the Germans ran out ammo.

Of course, it wasn't the numbers that won the Russians the war, the book made it clear that the Americans and other allies had been assisting them.

But it prompted a disturbing epiphany within the teenager.

It seemed to have taken the Germans running out of ammo to lose the war after having a "K/D ratio" of nearly one to nine.

The only unit that could claim anything remotely close to that with the titans was the legendary Team Levi, and even then, compared to the losses in the last century it was impossible.

And now, the second it seemed like they were close to begin evening the odds, the second it seemed that mankind might be able to stand up to the monsters plaguing them…

"104th-A Group, that was the last of our BGM-71s, I say again, that was the last of our BGM-71s! We're pulling back to Alamo in five minutes. Hold that line for as long as you can and pull back to Alamo. 104th-B group will take over and begin phase two of the defense!"

As if to punctuate the seriousness of the situation, Reiner's gun ran dry once more.

…

Matt cursed under his breath as he finished checking the Mk 19, once done he hopped from the Humvee and grabbed his Kevlar, securing it to himself just as Jake arrived with an extra box of 40 mm grenades.

"More?"

"Better to not need and have-" he began before Matt pulled open one of the doors, grabbing his rifle.

"Just get it into the old girl! How long until the fat bastards get here?"

An unsure expression on his face, Jake said "Ten minutes, they just ordered the first line to pull back."

"Damn it… where's Dave?!" he growled.

"Dude, you okay?"

"I won't be unless this-"

"Guys!" Dave shouted as he ran up to them.

"Oh, what the hell are you-?"

"Some extra armor piercing rounds! Just in case we need them…"

Matt glanced at the green tipped rounds. He was tempted to correct Dave on their classification, but chose to ignore it.

"Dude, we're all carrying the green tipped rounds."

"Yeah, but extra ammunition is-"

An alarm sounded off.

"Pack em! We have to get moving, now!" Matt said, climbing up to man his weapon.

Jake glanced behind him, noticing the young cadets using their gear to move away.

_No older than sixteen…_

"_Driver_! Hey, driver, we aren't paying you to exploit your ephebiophilic tendencies!"

Jake turned to Matt, asking "Dude, what?"

"Jesus Christ! We don't have time for this, man! DRIVE!"

_Dear mom and dad, I found out today that if I am going to die, it's because the guys in my unit will literally find time to argue while giant zombies approach us, love Dave._

Not too far from the Americans, Eren felt the wind on his face as he landed on a dusty rooftop, quickly grabbing the M107 and placing the rifle on a stable position as Jean landed next to him with a huff.

"How many?" Jean asked simply, fixing the radio on his vest.

Eren narrowed his eyes as he counted the titans in the distance, now passing the barracks, still following the tail of the retreating machine gunners of the 104th.

Suddenly the titans began to splinter away from each other, the giant mass of bodies becoming a branching tree that spread in several directions.

"I see seven headed our way… I think it's more or less spreading out like that." he replied, removing the cap on the front of the scope and gripped the rifle, keeping his finger off the trigger.

His radio crackled to life suddenly.

"This is private Arlert, team two made it to Alamo, I say again, team two made it to Alamo! We're clear!"

"Private Srpinger, team four made it to Alamo!"

Eren felt a sigh of relief as all the other members of the 104th that had been part of the first line of defense appeared to have made it back safely.

Jean mumbled something next to him, and Eren proceeded to glare silently at the young man.

"Glare at me all you want, Yeager, if you die it'll be your own fault."

Eren huffed and said "You know, I'll give you this much, Jean, at least you stuck with us long enough to fight the titans. You gonna run now?"

"I swear, Yeager, if it wasn't for the Americans I-"

"You would be living it up in the capital or inner wall or wherever. Jean, I don't care, get that through your head. What pisses me off is that you don't keep that garbage opinion of yours to yourself! You're like a walking vacuum of morale and no matter what we do you won't stop."

Jean felt his nails dig into the wood on the Garand, unable to talk back without punching the teenager in the face.

"Come on, they're about to get into range." He mumbled slightly, checking the ammunition.

Jean didn't say anything as the radio crackled in his ear.

"Zeremski and Braus, we're set." A worried cadet stated.

"Leonhart and Hoover, we're set."

"Ackerman and Bodt, we're set."

"Yeager and Kirschtein, we're set." He said after a second.

Eren didn't comment, which Jean wasn't sure if it irritated him more than if Eren had commented, but right now he didn't care.

The radio crackled as the last team reported in.

"Alright cadets, be advised, enemy strength is a little over two hundred strong at this point. Most of these are ten to twelve meter types, but plenty of five and fifteen meter types are sprinkled out. Remember that distance is your friend, cadets. Do. Not. Take. Needless. Risks! I am not about to write a letter to your family saying you died like an idiot because you didn't follow procedure! Now… Mark your targets and fire at will." Lieutenant Troy's voice rang into their ears.

Eren smiled ever so slightly as he felt satisfaction at the orders given.

Without turning to Jean, he said "Keep an eye out for the short ones, I'll take care of those heading our way."

He aimed right at the center of a titan's neck, a particularly fat one that had a dead look in its eyes as it lumbered towards him.

Eren gently squeezed the trigger.

The resulting shockwave from the blast of the anti-material rifle caused dust to fly and small pieces of the ceiling to shift or outright slip down away from the rooftop.

The result on the titan was clear, as a hole briefly materialized on the left side of its cheek, steam coming from the crater of the uncaring monster.

_Always account for wind… damn it all!_

He adjusted slightly and fired again, this time the monster went down without hesitation.

"Got one." Eren breathed, doing his best to hide his excitement.

"I got one too, and _without_ the scoped rifle!" an excited Sasha shouted over the line.

"Not like that's anything to brag about, I think Mikasa and Annie are going to mow them down singlehandedly." Jean replied, sounding irritated.

"Focus, cadets!" the booming voice of Kieth Shadis came over the radio, silencing everyone.

Eren mentally kicked himself, firing a second shot, grazing the neck of a titan.

Their booming of their steps in the distance was audible in the distance.

Slow, primeval, completely different from the booming of anti-material rifles that responded the booming footsteps of the gigantic invaders.

The teenager aggressively pulled the trigger again, once more missing.

He felt his jaw clench in anger.

_These damned vermin… YOU WILL NOT HOLD US CAPTIVE ANY LONGER!_

He fired again, earning a second kill a second later.

The battle was just getting started.

…

Ilse recognized the up armored Humvee and ran up to it as it parked itself near an MRAP.

"Guys! What took you so long?!" she demanded.

"We got stuck with the last group to leave-" Jake began but was cut off by the younger scout.

"Are you kidding?! You guys were in the back of the convoy! Why on earth-?! Nevermind! Lieutenant Troy is waiting for you over there." She spat back, pointing at an empty spot near the entrance of the wall.

"Jackson, get that Mk 19 over here _now_!" the lieutenant shouted.

The soldier drove over immediately, knowing full well the firepower was needed.

All the vehicles that had been in the motor pool that could be equipped with any type of gun were neatly parked in front of the entrance, facing the main street of Shiganshina, the gate behind them open should a retreat be necessary.

It was mostly a mix of Army and Marine mechanized infantry, with the four M1A2 Abrams being the biggest guns in the defense, the four iron carriages placed specifically in front of the main entrance, turrets aimed down the main street, ready to deliver instant death should anything that wasn't human peak over the corner of the street at the opposite end.

The entrance to Shiganshina had been mostly flattened during the repairs, which gave them plenty of room, but the area still appeared crowded, and Ilse knew that retreating would be difficult.

She glanced up at the sky.

She couldn't see it, but knew that there were eyes in the skies above, American remote controlled drones that flew high in the sky, sending a feed to the small command center they had set up, which would warn them if the force became too much for the defenders, hopefully giving them enough time to pull back if necessary, but even she knew that the plan could go wrong a million different ways.

The Cobras had taken care of most of the abnormal titans before having to land atop the walls, but if a group of abnormal types appeared, the retreat would most definitely be attacked before they could all pull back.

And that wasn't factoring in the armored or colossal titans appearing again.

She gripped her ODM gear, knowing that she might have to fight the enemy head on if they got too close.

She glanced at the rooftops around her, seeing the members of the 104th setting up machine gun nests on the rooftops.

"If those kids have to fight, it feels a bit insulting that we have to stand back." She mumbled.

The small contingency of scouts in Shiganshina had been relegated to organizing the evacuation of non-combatants, and were in a sense the final line of defense should the "Alamo" need to pull back.

The ever present sound of distant gunfire drew her attention, and she knew the enemy was close yet again, and she shuddered.

They were exposed.

The Cobras were no longer at the entrance, and even with the damage they had inflicted on the large contingency of titans that got in, if another swarm of the beasts decided to take advantage of the sealed gate… nothing would stop them.

The supply convoy had arrived and begun distributing ammo amongst the Americans, but the fuel necessary to keep the Cobras running could only be delivered through the equipment at the main barracks.

And unless the drone feed was lying to them, that place was already overrun.

Thankfully evacuated, but overrun.

And the Americans had prioritized getting ammo and personnel out, not finding room for the refueling equipment.

Ilse wanted to hit something, knowing that until more air support arrived, they would have to fight like this.

_We can only hold them off long enough for the air support to arrive._

She glanced at the shadows forming by a small rock as the sun in the clear blue sky shone on it.

_It's been thirty minutes… we need to wait an hour and half at the least._

Glancing at the motor pool behind her, she wondered if the ammo would hold out.

…

"Pulling back!" one of the cadets, Zeremski, was heard on the radio.

Colonel Parker nodded, biting his fingernail as he moved out of the tiny command post they had set up on the top of Wall Maria.

He noted the scale of the district, trying to locate the position of the cadets by the steam emitted form the decaying bodies of the dead titans.

"Redirect, divide and conquer… or at least kill." He mumbled, and soon realizing how futile it was to locate them from that height without assistance, he looked through his binoculars.

The cadets had indeed pulled further to the east of their position, luring several titans away.

_God, could this actually work?_

He stared at the large contingency of titans, somewhat separating as they all tried to head for different targets now that they had humans closer to them, most ignoring the larger massing of people at the main gate.

"Pulling back." the almost unnaturally calm voice of Ackerman was heard on the radio.

The Colonel actually laughed slightly when he heard her.

She had no need to fall back, but was sticking to the plan.

Every single titan that had approached her and Private Bodt had been slaughtered before they could even begin to close the distance.

"God damn Asians, they really _do_ everything better!" Parker laughed.

_She even decided to carry extra blades in case they were necessary… girl should be promoted._

Several Army Rangers were moving around him, some positioning their own anti-material rifles on the wall, waiting for the cadets to completely pull back before opening fire on the titans.

"Sir, it appears that a second large gathering of titans has taken notice and is headed our way." One of the operatives manning a computer and controlling a drone called out.

It was a bare bones outpost, several solar powered computers on the ground with the equipment needed to control the group of relatively small but efficient RQ-11 Ravens that were acting as the eye in the sky.

"Great, so even if we split them up into slightly more manageable clusters another group is on the way… of course." he mumbled sarcastically.

"Colonel, unlike this previous group already inside, most of these other titans- at least, the ones I can see here, are clearly the slower kind. By the time they get here, air support should have arrived."

Parker shook his head.

"Hope for the best, plan for the worst, Mikey. Keep a close eye on the kids, if one of them gets hurt, and I mean _badly_ hurt…"

"Understood, Colonel." the soldier replied.

Parker glanced at the monitor, a ten meter titan going down with relative ease from yet another shot from Mikasa.

The girl was as good as a tank.

_Urban combat with giants… a nightmare in the making._

…

"Pulling back..." Yeager's voice sounded on the radio, which might have relieved someone like Mikasa.

But the Warrior felt nothing but dread as he glanced in the direction of the teenager.

_This is __**perfect!**__ The second you get a shot-_

_You want me to __**shoot**__ Eren?!_

_Non-fatal, just… wound him. _

_With a bullet that kills titans?!_

_If he is what I think he is, it won't matter unless you hit his spine._

That was true, if Eren was just like him and his two companions, a bullet would sure as hell hurt, but it wouldn't kill him.

The girl he admired so much glanced at him then, wordlessly asking "Now?"

The young man was simply looking at the rooftop in the distance.

_The problem is they put us too far away… even if it isn't really too much of a problem for me._

He had trained with firearms before and he had been an excellent shot.

He could faintly see the silhouettes of Eren and Jean standing up.

He noted that Eren was the one carrying the far longer gun.

He took a breath and began to gently squeeze the trigger on the M1 Garand.

_Sorry, Eren…_

A fair distance away, Eren was standing up, grabbing his things and getting ready to zip away to the next location.

"Four kills… can't believe I'm saying this, Jean, but you did a decent enough job picking off the extra ones." He mumbled, making a point of sounding surprised by the fact that Jean had actually _done _something for the war effort.

The pair had always been arguing since that first week in training.

Eren wasn't entirely sure why Jean hated his guts, but he did know they were polar opposites to an extent.

Not that it mattered now, titans were still approaching, and the cadets had to pull back if they wanted to continue thinning their numbers to make the horde far more manageable once they arrived at the third line of defense.

"Just shut up, Yeager… I don't want-"

Jean felt something off in the air, like an insect had buzzed past him at lightning speeds.

He wasn't sure what it had been until Eren collapsed backwards, rolling down the slanted rooftop and falling to the stone road below.

The faintest "Huh?" came from the young man who was wondering why the hell his eyes were staring at the bright blue sky when they were focusing on jumping to another roof a half second ago.

His attempt at standing back up was met with no response from either his arms or his legs and he began to get worried.

_What- what the hell happened to me? I- I can't feel-_

"Dear God…"

Eren stared at the pale face of Jean, staring at him in shock from the rooftop.

"K-Kirschtein! Did you just p-"

A pang of pain shot up through his side and Eren could only glance to look at his torso.

There was a large hole on his left side that was quite literally bleeding like a popped gallon of water.

Since the invention of the modern firearm accidents have abounded, especially during wartime. During the American Civil War, a certain general was killed not by the enemy, but by his own soldiers when he had been mistaken for the enemy. Over forty years later, during the Russo-Japanese war, worried Russian sailors mistakenly opened fire on British cruisers almost starting a war with the British Empire. During the Spanish Civil War, cases of friendly fire were rampant as so many volunteers simply didn't have the experience needed and would often make deadly mistakes. Even in modern times, such as the 1991 Persian Gulf War, cases of friendly fire were a problem often due to mistaken identity. For the US, just about every M1 Abrams that was destroyed during that war was actually done in by friendly fire.

The cadets had learned of these examples, but hadn't taken them too seriously as they had all learned gun safety for the most part, and who on earth would ever confuse a person for a titan?

The baseball sized hole in Yeager's left side seemed to tell a different story.

Jean had no idea what to do so he froze there, staring.

Beginning to shake, Eren forced himself to speak.

_No way in hell am I dying because of your incompetence, Jean!_

"J-Jean- c-call it in!" he gargled out, unknowingly going into shock.

Eren didn't have to say anymore as Jean immediately grabbed the radio on his vest, saying "E-Eren has been it by… by one of our own rounds!"

If anyone reacted Jean didn't notice then, as he saw the sickening smile of the approaching giants staring at him.

"Jean!"

He snapped back to reality and glanced at his radio.

"Say again! Are you reporting a blue on blue situation?" Lieutenant Troy barked.

"What the hell is a blue on blue?!" Jean barked back, impatiently.

"Did you shoot Eren by accident, cadet?!" the furious voice bellowed back.

Jean shouted "No, but Eren got hit by _some_ bullet and he's bleeding on the floor and- and- and… oh, dear God, his gear is damaged!"

The teenager moved down to the street to check over his comrade.

"Jean, report!" the lieutenant called then.

"He- he's breathing! But he looks bad… real bad…"

_Of course he looks __**bad**__, dumbass, he just got shot by an anti-titan round! Oh, crap, titans!_

"The titans they're… they're getting closer! What do I do?"

Silence for an agonizing second before Troy spoke up again in a very calm and almost disturbing voice.

"Jean, there is a tight alleyway down the street where you two can hide in, I need you to stop his bleeding while we send a team to recover the two of you. Try to keep him alive, but if you get surrounded… don't let him suffer. Stick to this frequency, and stay quiet."

Jean stared at the pained expression on the unconscious teenager.

_Damn you, Eren! Why the hell did you have to go and get shot?!_

…

Mikasa blanched as she heard the exchange over the radio before it was cut off.

Her lip quivered ever so slightly as Marco attempted to say something.

"Look, Mikasa, he-"

The girl stood up, an unreadable expression on her face, and fired every round she had in almost rapid succession, killing the five titans that were directly headed towards her new position.

She immediately got on the radio and spoke up saying "Sir, requesting permission to assist Jean and Eren!"

Silence on the other end.

Marco stood up, speaking into the radio "Colonel, we cleaned up our sector, if we're fast we can-"

"Do it, God damn it! Just don't try to be heroes and move from _behind_ the firing lines!"

"S-sir! Thank you, colonel!" Mikasa managed to breathe out before jumping from the rooftop and zooming towards Eren's location.

Marco took a breath before doing the same.

Meanwhile at the command post, Colonel Parker got Troy on the radio.

"Troy, how many men can we spare?"

"We have an extra Humvee and MRAP from the Marines, if they stick to the street on the right side of the district, they could get there in ten minutes."

_A twenty minute round trip…_

"Nurse Joy is also on standby outside, I can call her in and have her bring in some blood and supplies for a transfusion. If private Kirschtein stops the bleeding for a few minutes and we move fast enough…"

Parker rubbed the hair on his head, frustrated as the situation became awfully clear.

A kid was going to die on his watch.

He knew it would be nearly impossible to save a kid who might have taken a hit by a .50 caliber round, but… the kid was the only remaining family for those two, as well as one of the only surviving members of Shiganshina.

The colonel felt his throat tighten in frustration.

_He's also one of the few kids here with that abnormality in his blood… the same type as that Ymir girl the Scouts are looking into._

"God… of course… get to it, but if it gets too risky, call it off."

"Understood, Colonel." the lieutenant replied.

Parker glanced at the monitors.

The titans had indeed spread out; giving the sniper teams a decent opportunity to deal with each individual titan with greater ease.

But with one of the teams out of action and the other team moving to assist them, they were converging again.

Parker could only hope this would be enough.

The kid might be more important than he had thought. How the hell had a friendly fire incident occurred?

The eerie possibility of an intelligence behind the creatures sent waves of ice up and down his spine.

Glancing at the formation of men and materials meters down he held on to the knowledge that no matter what it was, they would face it head on.

_For better or for worst…_

…

Kane eyed the Army lieutenant without emotion.

"So, you want us to head out, ass first into the part of the town that's infested with giant naked cannibals in order to try to save a kid who got shot by a .50 caliber round at the same time that the giants are moving on our position and we may have to evacuate if they get too close?"

"The kid is Eren Yeager, one of the only survivors of the Shiganshina attack half a decade ago, and is a person of interest. You guys don't have to, but you're the only ones with an MRAP that we can spare"

Kane nodded, taking a relaxed drag on the cigarette he was smoking before saying "Lieutenant, we just wanted to be clear on the objective. Come on, Murph."

"Hold it, you guys need to take the Nurse with you!"

Kane nodded, saying "We'll wait right here, sir."

Troy then glanced at the Humvee where an angry Ilse was arguing with her escorts.

"What do you mean I can't come?" she demanded.

"We may need the extra space and this is just a quick recovery operation, not an opening offensive or the begginings of a counter attack!" Jake barked back as he checked the ammo on his M4.

"Oh, but team Levi gets to go?"

"God damn it, Ilse, if you want to help out then go take some extra ammo to the cadets over there! This isn't a game!"

"I _**know **_but- but I… damn it!" she balled a fist and yelled "None of you are allowed to die!"

The three men nodded calmly.

_Soldier or not, she's still a teenager._

Though truthfully, she knew how serious the situation was, which was why she wanted to help in any way she could.

It would have been perfect if this was a normal combat situation, the ODM gear could get troops to rooftops and back quickly, and combined with modern firearms, no human enemy would be able to hold much.

But of course, the enemy wasn't human, and urban combat was always a nightmare.

This was already a mission that might be better off canceled given that Eren would likely die from blood loss.

Troy noticed Karina moving towards them.

"Come on, Nurse Joy! Move your- hurry up!" Troy called as the nurse ran towards the Marine MRAP, Oluo and Eld running alongside her while carrying some bags of what Troy assumed were medical supplies.

The nurse said nothing, climbing on board the MRAP as the Eld handed her the medical supplies.

"Can we spare any extra troops?" she called.

Troy simply shook his head.

The nurse nodded, mildly frustrated, but five Americans and four elite scouts should hold off any small amount of titans that tried to grab them.

"Don't you worry, nurse. We have a combined kill count of one hundred enemy combatants, as you Americans call them, we'll keep them off you if they start getting close." Eld chimed.

The nurse nodded.

The scout with light brown hair who appeared older than he was glanced around before potting his other two squad mates running up with some heavy looking boxes on hand.

"Petra, Gunther, get over here! What the hell are you carrying?!" Oluo called as he began climbing into the armored vehicle.

Petra placed the crate on the MRAP, saying "Kane, some of the Marines said this would come in handy… whatever that means… any idea what kind of weapons these are?"

Kane glanced at the crate and grinned.

"Well, God damn… I heard they had some of those one-five-threes. Hold on to them, if we get surrounded they will clear a neat little path for us."

Petra could only blink as the Marine both seemed to answer her question and not answer it at all.

It was Gunther that said "Probably another titan killing weapon. Come on, we're low time."

"Yeah, hey Jackson! You boys ready?!" he called.

"Yeah!" the soldier called back.

Jake started the Humvee as Matt finished checking the Mk 19.

_It'll have to do…_

Kane started up the MRAP just as the scouts got inside, Murphy making sure the mounted .50 caliber machine gun wsa functioning with the common remotely operated weapons station, CROW for short.

"Gun's working fine." he said.

"Great, let's go get ourselves killed! Hoo-rah!"

Lieutenant Troy could only watch as the odd combined force sped away into the district.

_Please don't get yourselves killed._

…

_You just __**had **__to get yourself shot, huh you attention seeking brat?! You just __**had **__to drag me into your problems instead of just dying instantly, huh?! Damn you, Eren, even at death's door you __**somehow**__ manage to make life hard for me!_

Jean had found himself awkwardly dragging the unconscious Eren into the tight alleyway that seemed sturdy enough to hold off the titans for a minute or two if they got discovered.

Stopping the bleeding had proven impossible, what amazed him as that the teenager was somehow not dead.

Tossing the now blood soaked cloth he had used aside, he considered his options.

"You know, leaving you here wouldn't work… Mikasa would hate me for it. But if you have no intention of dying can you at least become conscious enough so that I can fly us both out of here?!"

No response except the visibly strained breathing and the distant sound of gunfire and walking giants.

"Damn it all… you better not die after putting me through all this-"

He shut himself up.

_*Boom*_

_*Boom_

_*Boom*_

It wasn't the guns anymore; it was the giants that had been closing in on them.

He moved himself closer to the edge of the alley, just as the giant shadow appeared at its entrance.

A skinny giant the size of the homes around them lay itself down and stared at them from the entrance, unable to follow them in.

_Although it can probably reach us if it tries breaking these old homes…_

Jean didn't move an inch, not even daring to breathe.

The dead eyed creature simply watched them, unblinking.

A shadow came over them, blocking out the sunlight and making the alleyway appear more like a tomb than Jean would have liked.

A fat fifteen meter titan was staring at them from behind the alley, towering over the long abandoned homes of stone and wood.

Jean blinked, not saying a word as the creature simply looked at them.

Its smile widened after exactly sixty seconds of unnervingly staring at the cadets.

It slowly began to reach into the alley.

Snapping out of his trance, Jean began to desperately search for a window or a door he could break down to escape, but there was nothing.

He gripped the M1 Garand and pointed it at the giant, firing a shot.

He missed the vital neck spot, and the creature was so large even if he had hit it…

Still he fired again and again, trying to knock its eyes out.

He managed that, and the titan froze in place.

"Jean? What's going on over there?" the concerned voice of Mikasa came over the radio.

Jean breathed out a sigh of relief, saying "We're surrounded by titans, just two so far- I managed to knock one out of commission, but it's too-"

"Is Eren…alive?" she asked then.

_It's always about him, isn't it?_

Frustrated, he turned to look at his wounded companion, saying "He lost a lot of blood, but he's still breathing if that's what-"

Jean went silent.

The titan that had been staring at them from the entrance of the alley had squeezed his hand into the tight space and grabbed Eren by the leg, lifting him up and allowing blood to drip down, as if Eren was indeed a dead farm animal about to be consumed for its meat.

"God damn it, hurry up!"

He didn't even bother emptying the clip, loading another one in and firing at the eyes… until the monster placed Eren in front of its face.

Jean froze, unsure of what he could do.

Behind the cadet, the fat titan was now reaching down to grab him with its bloated arm, its eyes now back to functioning properly.

Jean froze in place, staring at the situation, and understanding coming over him.

"We really can't beat you… huh?"

In the distance, he heard a scream or a shout… it was a girl.

The fat titan fell forward, dead right there and then, Jean barely seeing the recognizable features of Mikasa Ackerman as she sped forward, blades drawn, to destroy the other monster.

"_**Eren**_!"

As if it understood what trouble it was in, the creature stuffed Eren in its open mouth, snapped it shut, and swallowed as the girl cut into its nape.

Like all its brethren, the titan died with a smile, and it left nothing behind but grief and despair.

…

Captain Levi always sported a face that suggested that no matter the occasion, no matter the place, no matter the time, he was having a miserable time.

"Come _on, _Captain! Millions will see your photograph!" the ever energetic Hanji hissed as a man with a cap that had the letters "ABC" written on it stood with a camera aimed at the three officers of the Survey Corps.

Levi didn't reply and the bored looking cameraman stood still.

"Captain, this is a highly important mission, and looking your best is highly important." Erwin whispered, keeping a polite grin on his face.

Levi felt his eyebrow twitch slightly as he forced his lips to curve upwards ever so slightly.

The photographer simply mumbled something along the lines of "That'll do, I guess." and took the picture.

"Levi, how come you have to look dead every hour of every dead?"

"You got your presentation ready?" he asked her, ignoring her question.

"Of course I do! All that's left is for the reporters to set up their cameras and for the interrogation of the nobility to conclude." She said, glancing at the exasperated politicians.

"Many nations from our side of the gate are worried they have people on this side, what would the monarchy's position be if another nation asked for their people to be sent across the gate?" a reporter asked.

"We have no idea what that means, but are open to discussions. Next question…" Deltoffe sighed, trying desperately to look dignified and not like he wanted to die.

"Sir, concerns have been raised about the lack of modernization, are American policies not working as they are or is there something else?" another reporter asked.

"We will begin modernizing this very month, next question." he sighed.

"Why ban flying machines within the walls?" another reporter asked.

"Public safety, next-"

"But sir, with all due respect you have allowed a large percentage of the population to permanently live underground, spreading diseases among other dangers, why exactly-?"

"I said next question… after that one we are done." Deltoffe said, exasperated but firm enough that the reporter went quiet as his colleagues glared at him.

"Does the king have an heir?"

"Yes. Now if you would all kindly take a seat, the Survey Corps will give their report on titans and you can Miss Hanji Zoe all the questions you would like."

Deltoffe noticed the young reporter had more questions, but she simply walked along the rest of the group to the chairs set up nearby so that they could record the information Hanji was about to present.

_These reporters aren't as easy to deal as our own, but at least they cooperate… unlike a certain-_

"Ladies, gentlemen and colleagues! Good morning to you all!"

_Damn it all…_

A somewhat flustered Moblit moved around to set up a stand with large drawings and what the Americans called "photographs" in order to present the findings with simplicity.

A large white canvass simply read in both their alphabet and the Americans' "Information Available to us Thus Far".

"Hmm, this should be good." The voice of Commander Dot Pixis was overheard just as Moblit moved the first picture onto the stand.

"I am Hanji Zoe, member of the Survey Corps, in charge of our own efforts to analyze and understand the threat that are _the titans!_"

Her subordinate removed the white canvass presentation page and placed a picture of a fat, smiling titan before quickly turning it around to reveal show several odd drawings on the back side.

"Due to our technological limitations and resources, we could never really analyze titans head on, however, thanks to some insight from the other side of the gate, and some of their technology, we can definitively conclude that titans are artificial beings."

Some of the military officers turned to each other, unsure of what that meant for them.

Erwin stared ahead, knowing already what she knew.

"The… exact workings of the titans is still not something we understand, they possess no means of digesting their food but other organs still exist within them such as the stomach and lungs and brain- but tests done on our resident titan, Tiny, have shown-"

"Excuse me, but you named the titan… Tiny?" an American reporter asked.

Levi felt the corner of his eye twitch involuntarily.

_Don't get her started, don't get her started, don't-_

"Yes, and it was a **big deal** given that we weren't really sure what to name him. originally I was going to call him after a legendary murderer that was forced to eat his own eyes as punishment for his crimes, but then some of the scientists from the other side were talking about these ancient tales called Greek myths and how the titans used to be these incredibly powerful gods, and then we started talking about the titans in their myths and legends and overall we settled on calling the project itself _Project Prometheus_, after one of the Greek gods, and Tiny was named due to his tiny size compared to the more intimidating fifteen meter types… did that answer your question?"

The reporter blinked, amazed at how fast the woman had stated all of that, nodded slowly and decided it would be wise to stay silent for the rest of the presentation.

"Anyway, where was I?"

"Brains, Miss Hanji." Moblit whispered.

"Ah! Of course! Their brains don't do anything. It's just a pile of… as of yet unidentifiable material that occupies the inside of their heads. All nerves and anything resembling what might be the _command center _of the body lie either connected to or directly within the nape of the neck. Which lead my colleagues and I to try and get a closer look at the nape of the titan."

Hanji pointed to the pictures on the board behind her. Upon inspection, any one could see that it was a crudely drawn human, strange strings moving across all extremities in the body.

"These are what nerves look like, and this here is a map of nerves on the average human body, to put it bluntly, they are extensions to the brain that allow us to move our arms and legs by simply thinking about it." she greatly oversimplified.

Moblit added another set of pictures to the stand.

"It wasn't easy, but we began analyzing the nape with special machines brought in from the other side of the gate… notice any similarities?

A murmur spread through the crowd, the military officers immediately putting two and two together.

"The… the center of nerves spreading across the titans… from the nape- it… it looks like…" Hanji tried to speak, suddenly worried about the saying the truth aloud, but resolving to go forward.

It was her duty to venture into the unknown and try to understand it.

"It's as if there is a human figure within the titan's nape that connects all the nerves together." She stated simply.

Silence.

Deltoffe sighed and asked "Miss Hanji, how many titans have you tested this on?"

"So far just Tiny, but we have several leads and are already making efforts to capture another. This time a fifteen meter type, and we have a theory that most titans don't have perfect nerves, as some react with pain to getting hurt, like Tiny, while others simply ignore pain entirely."

Deltoffe nodded slowly, though Erwin could see the man was trying to sow doubt. He nodded for Hanji to continue.

"This actually gives credence to some of the theories that titans were originally man made weapons of some sort. Notice that the nerves here don't so much as connect to one stem, but spread out from this… collection of nerves right here. We tried opening the nape, but no matter what tools we brought or what chemicals we applied, the regeneration always kicked in and… and it leads me to another worrisome conclusion."

The nobility leaned in, the reporters stood up with their cameras, and Erwin braced himself.

"Titans appear to almost be… designed to hunt humans specifically, and reading up on the history of the world beyond the gate we do see humans creating weapons for the express purpose of dealing with specific threats- stones and knives to defeat larger animals, spears and bows to defeat knives and stones, swords and armor to defeat spears and bows, rifles and other guns to defeat swords and armor, tanks to defeat rifles and other guns, aircraft to defeat those, and then anti-aircraft guns to defeat them in turn… of course, we haven't had that technology or need of, but it suggests that there is an intelligence behind the titans, human or otherwise."

"Are you saying there is some unseen force leading the titans?"

"Quite likely, it follows the same logic as the other world. Our weapons failed against the titans, so we took shelter behind the Three Walls. For one hundred years we lived free from their threat… until almost exactly five years ago, when the Colossal and Armored titans appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and clearly never before seen. So… maybe the titans are just mindless entities that simply exist and we got unlucky when one that size spotted us… _or_ some intelligence adapted, and _designed_ two new titans for the sole purpose of defeating our walls."

Another murmur spread amongst the small crowd of the nobility, the military, and the reporters.

Hanji remained silent, a part of her desperately wanted to talk about the suspicious individuals within the 104th that was training in Shiganshina, but information was already limited enough, and they would have a report on it soon anyway.

"These are just theories at the end of the day, yes?" Deltoffe asked.

"Of course, but it is what we can assume with the given information we have available. Titans don't get sick, they don't age, they don't eat, and they don't even drink water! They act more like machines than normal organisms."

"They don't get _sick?_" another reporter asked.

"Oh, one of my colleagues came in a few days ago and tested several diseases from your world on Tiny. The inside of a titan is too hot to allow any organism to survive for too long, so everything injected into it died before it could spread. It was quite fascinating, actually."

Before the reporters could ask anything else, Deltoffe stood up and clapped his hands, sayig "Thank you, Miss Hanji Zoe, American Press, the nobility and the commanders must discuss this information in private, but feel free to look around the government offices! Thank you for blessing us with your presence."

Hanji wanted to protest, but the man had spoken in a polite, yet firm, tone that made it clear there was no point in even trying.

This information was very important to the military, after all; more so than curious questions.

She began helping Moblit pack up her presentation when Levi approached her.

"Hey, four eyes, when you get the chance, give this to the man by the door."

She blinked in confusion as the short captain handed her a small piece of paper and went back to Erwin's side.

She glanced at the door, seeing a man in a trench coat and a dark hat staring at her.

"Huh… the illusive Kenny Ackerman, huh?" Hanji mumbled silently to herself.

"Huh?" Moblit questioned.

"Come along, Moblit. Questions are awaiting answers!" she replied, beginning to walk towards the man in the trench coat.

Moblit sucked in some air and followed her while carrying the presentation materials.

The man in the trench coat noticed the approaching pair but said nothing.

"Hi, there! Have you met our captain?"

Silence.

"He seems to know you from somewhere…"

Silence.

"Well, an excellent point, sir! Anyway, Captain Levi asked us to give you this note, not sure why, mind sharing?"

Silence.

"A _very _persuasive and enlightening argument! Have a good day, sir!" she said, handing the man the note before walking away.

Kenny Ackerman stared at the note for a second before opening it.

"What the hell was that all about?" Sannes asked, appearing out of nowhere.

Kenny closed it and said "Bah, the captain of the Survey Corps recognized me from way back in the day. Not that it matters much." Kenny mumbled, noticing that Ian was accompanying Sannes.

"You notice he follows you around like a lost puppy?"

Sannes shrugged, saying "He needs to learn how we do things… these people are too inquisitive for their own good." He mumbled, glancing at the American reporters.

Kenny nodded with little care.

"So… is the big guy ready?"

Ian scowled, asking "Do you always speak of the king in such disparaging tone, captain?"

Kenny scoffed, saying "You should have met the previous kings, boy."

_Speaking of…_

The government room shut its doors, leaving the military commanders and one subordinate to accompany the nobility.

Except they were not alone.

Erwin noted that another nobleman was in the room, looking tired.

_He looks strangely familiar…_

"Commanders, we are here to address a very important issue." Aurille began to speak.

Dot Pyxis figured they were finally going to ask about the modernization progress, he had several ideas for adapting several weapons and putting them into mass production.

Nile Dawk, the commander of the Military Police had a similar idea, as he had seen the schematics of several century old weapons that they could use in the Military Police.

Premiere Zachary didn't care what the meeting was about.

Erwin thought it was about a progress report, but now he worried it would be about-

"We need to discuss the threat of the Americans on our way of life."

Everyone gawked at the statement.

"Commander Erwin, you have worked with them closely, if they wanted to destroy us… could they?"

Erwin was stunned, saying "Sir, they have rules that they follow strictly! Even if they could-"

"They can and they might… their world leaders keep asking questions, wondering why we won't allow this or that… questioning the absolute rule of the king…"

"To be fair, sir, they have been an incredible help thus far. In less than a year they have retaken Wall Maria, killed all the titans within it, and even began training a force to combat titans with their own weapons!" Pyxis added.

"Are you certain they are planning on using those cadets against the titans? It isn't too far-fetched to assume they would turn them on us, right?"

"But sir, why would they-?"

"Because they disagree with us on a fundamental level."

Everyone turned to look at the man that had been standing around in the room, not saying much.

He looked tired, slightly overweight, and worried.

He sucked in a breath and said "They are a nation of beliefs and laws that go against our own. They carelessly charge ahead, they don't consider the consequences of their actions… Miss Langnar had said they were cautious not to bring diseases however, yet Miss Zoe just confirmed they tested diseases on a captured titan. What if there was an accident?"

"Excuse me, but the test was done deep underground, in a very contained environment and the disease used were deadly but treatable. They were as cautious as they could be when seeking knowledge." Erwin stated.

_You would know this if you bothered asking questions._

"As cautious as you were, commander? Captain?"

The two scouts were silent.

"In the days since you took charge Erwin, how many people have died under you? Captain… Please correct me if I'm wrong, but your first squad was killed in its entirety except for you."

Levi felt his nails dig into the palm of his hand despite his emotionless demeanor.

"Excuse me, but who exactly are you?" Premiere Zachary asked then, irritated with the odd man that was apparently just observing.

Silence for a moment.

"My name is Rod Reiss. I am the true king of the walls."

Silence.

Pyxis turned to his just as shocked subordinate, asking "Anka, am I drunk or did I really hear him properly?"

"Oh, you heard right, commander. I am letting you all in on this little secret not because I want conflict but because I want to avoid it. You see, long ago, we had a founder… a god, if you will."

As the man spoke, the military commanders glanced at the nobility, all of whom were watching the self-proclaimed king with a reverence they had never seen before.

"The will of the Founder is why we have our laws, why things have gone so well… if anything, it's going against the will of the Founder that brings misfortune, just look at what your expeditions brought forth, Commander."

Silence.

"Now, I am a man of peace, I will let you know that we have no intentions of fighting the Americans, and Erwin, I want you to deliver that message immediately. But if they choose to strike first, I want all our forces to be prepared."

Silence.

"I have spoken… dedicate your hearts and do your duty as soldiers."

The phrase, much to the shock of the military officers, no longer felt like a call to duty.

…

Unless someone that knew them was to stop to stare, they wouldn't notice the mild shock on the faces of Captain Levi and Commander Erwin.

Nile Dawk couldn't say much about Levi, but he knew Erwin.

The two had actually been in the same trainee unit a lifetime before, and Erwin had always talked about crazy things like conspiracies within the government and history books being used to fool the population.

He had never believed him, of course, but now…

"So… that was something, huh? Feel like I owe you an apology."

Erwin simply said "No need, even I didn't expect this… did you understand any of what he said about a founder and a god?"

"Sounded like crazy talk if you ask me, crazier than any of your theories." Nile replied.

"The nobility seemed to be on board, though."

Nile only nodded, worried.

"Could the Americans actually be… you know… planning something against us?"

Erwin was silent, but it was broken by load yells and a figure running towards them.

"COMMANDER!" Hanji shouted as she stopped in front of the men.

"The- the wall- it- Wall Maria has been breached!"

Levi didn't show it, but he immediately began to worry about his team.

_Your first squad was killed in its entirety except for you_

"How?! The Armored or the Colossal or-?" he was cut off by Hanji.

"All I know is that something strange happened… not just with the colossal but… something else."

The men looked confused now.

What on earth could be stranger than a giant the size of the walls tearing down the same spot twice in the same decade?

…

_The blood of her parents had seeped between the wooden planks on the floor, the men responsible arguing over the death of her mother._

_Her mother had resisted._

_Her mother had been the main objective._

_Her mother was dead._

_So she was the next best thing._

Mikasa had landed on the roof of a house but it barely registered as she stared simply at the dead giant.

"E-Eren?" she looked around, as she had moved to quickly when she killed the giant, she hadn't seen it devour Eren.

Moving quickly she hopped down from the rooftop, running to Marco, who quickly handed her back the M107.

"Jean? Where-?" she stopped.

She noticed then the horrified look on both Jean and Marco.

She turned to the dissipating titan.

_Mikasa remembered the men had hit her before taking her to a small cottage in the mountain her old home, now reeking of death, had been._

_It was raining heavily now, obscuring much of the conversation the killers had been having, but she heard them speak of how she would probably sell for a bit, though not as much as her mother._

_She wasn't sure how long she had been there, no longer than a few hours certainly, when the main door opened with a creek. _

_She didn't see who it had been then, just that the men were angry a kid had shown up unexpectedly._

"Eren…"

"Mikasa, I… I am so sorry to-"

"He's alive." She said simply, gripping one of the blades and running up to the giant.

"M-Mikasa, I don't think-"

"Grab your blades and help me! If he stays there too long he'll suffocate!"

Jean felt like breaking down at his own uselessness.

He gripped a blade and followed the girl instead.

The titan had been fat, which gave them some time to dig through it before it burned itself away, but where on earth would they even find Eren?

…or his corpse?

"Guys, I really don't want to say this but-" Marco began.

"Then don't!" Mikasa spat back.

"But there are titans coming! If we don't pull back now-"

"We can pull back when we find Yeager… come on, don't the Americans have a _no one left behind _policy?! Hurry up, Marco!"

The freckled youth forced himself to ignore the advancing footsteps of the giants and ran to the dead titan.

_More blood, death, screams._

_She was terrified as she saw a little boy, no older than her, somehow manage to knock one of her kidnappers to the ground._

_However her savior wasn't like anything found in the stories her mother had told her._

_She saw how a kid a quarter of the weight of that man managed to knock him down._

_The boy had stabbed him- was __**continuing **__to stab him with a knife, over and over and over again, screaming like an animal as he brutally ended the life of her kidnappers without a hint of mercy._

_Somehow, despite the horror of it all, she felt nothing. _

Mikasa began digging into the neck, calling "Eren! Can you hear me?"

"Mikasa, he had lost consciousness." Jean stated as he began stabbing the corpse, trying to dig their (probably dead) comrade out.

"It was worth checking… damn it." she said as she pulled some of the dissipating flesh away, noting there was nothing within the throat.

"Check the stomach, come on!"

Jean grimaced but followed suit.

In the distance, the booming steps of the enemy was now being challenged by a familiar yet still new sound.

Cars.

"104th cadets, this is Private First Class Kane Orville, what is the status of the wounded?"

Mikasa was too busy digging her way through the gigantic corpse to respond.

Marco spoke up, unsure of what to say.

"The Americans had sent an extraction team, it…"

"Good! Tell them to hurry!" Mikasa said, moving quickly as she tried stabbing her blade into the stomach.

Jean couldn't understand or imagine what she was going through, neither could Marco if he was honest, but they could see the subtle signs of panic in her actions, throwing away all rationale to desperately cling to the possibility of her family being alive for even a second longer.

The girl shook slightly as she moved; her eyes were wild as she kept looking, trying to stab a large hole on the side of the dead giant.

Jean couldn't help the pang of jealousy he had always felt when it came to Mikasa paying attention to Eren over him, but he still admired the skilled girl next to him enough to set it aside and continue helping her.

_She still felt nothing as the boy freed her from her bindings._

_It was as if nothing had happened._

_He was friendly, though tense, as he introduced himself and told her everything was alright._

_He was the son of the doctor that had been on his way to check her mother. _

_The memory flew back to her, but she felt nothing despite the gruesome memory._

_As she rubbed her wrists she only managed to ask the boy if he had seen the third kidnapper._

_He hadn't. _

"104th we have visual contact, we have a nurse with us, please respond."

A pair of American vehicles appeared as they passed a corner and appeared on their street.

"Ackerman, what the hell are you doing?!" the radio crackled, though it was another voice.

"Eren was swallowed! I'm trying to dig him out!" she replied.

"Are you out of your mind, the kids dead f the titan ate him!" another voice chimed in.

"I didn't- I didn't see it chew! He's alive!" she cried out.

"God damn it…" someone cursed as the booming footsteps of the enemy became ever louder, the accompanying sound of gunfire had been silenced as the cadets had likely retreated to the third and final line of defense.

_We're alone here…_

"I _know_ he's alive and unless-" she began, trying not to plead.

As she said this, a fat fifteen meter titan appeared on the opposite end of the street.

"Damn it… Eld, Petra, guys, anyone talk some sense into her?!" Jake demanded over the comms.

"Ackerman, I know it hurts but do you really think he would want you to die here?"

"I will keep looking for him until I find him! Unless you plan on killing me, don't bother trying to stop me."

"That can be arranged, kid." Kane mumbled as the scouts moved out of the MRAP.

Gunther stayed near the MRAP but spoke loudly as the other members of team Levi stood on standby, the remote controlled browning beginning to move to target the giant on the opposite end of the street.

"Ackerman, if the titan devoured him and you killed it, then the heat of its body collapsing would have killed him by now. He's dead and you have to accept that."

"He isn't dead!" the girl barked back, though she had no way of backing this up.

_She just knew he wasn't dead, somehow she knew._

"You don't have to accept it! But are you really going to risk the life of your fellow soldiers right now?! Look!"

The gaint had actually stopped to stare at the small feast that lay ahead of it, and it began to run.

The MK 19 opened up before the .50 and the giant fell to the floor, its head decapitated by a short burst from the 40 millimeter grenades.

Matt took a breath and angrily shouted "Will you Hurry up?! Our way back is gonna be crawling with them!"

_If not completely blocked off…_

Mikasa was silent.

Marco and Jean stood frozen, unsure of what they could say as the American's point was proven with another fifteen meter titan appearing from behind the one that had just been killed.

On one hand, the Americans had proven to be a force as destructive as the titans.

On the other hand, Mikasa was almost a force of nature.

_Damn it Eren! I swear y- _

Before he could even finish the thought, Jean found himself crashing down into the stone road below him, a powerful wind knocking him and Mikasa away from the titan carcass.

The members of team Levi were pushed to the floor by what appeared to be a powerful shockwave, and Matt almost fell back into the Humvee barely managing to register what the hell had just happened.

The powerful wind spread through the street, heat followed it, and the humans in the vicinity were left confused and thinking a bomb had gone off.

_It had happened so fast, completely without warning._

_The boy that had introduced himself as Eren Yeager had reached for the knife and the next thing Mikasa had known was that the third man had grabbed him and dragged him to a corner of the room, strangling the boy._

_The girl felt a tinge of fear, but finally understood why she had felt numb._

_The scene was not very different from the times she had seen a spider capture and kill a fly, or her father hunt a bird for dinner._

_The world was cruel._

_It's just the way it was._

_She had grabbed the knife on the floor besides her, but the small tinge of fear had grown into full blown terror. The knife shaking in her hand grew to her whole body shaking like a flower in the wind. _

_She didn't want to kill._

_She didn't want to see any more blood._

_She was shaking too much to do anything._

"_**F-fight!**__"_

_The boy had looked at her and through choked words, beckoned her._

"_**If… if you lose… youll die! If you win… you live! If you don't fight you can't win!**__"_

_The girl stopped shaking._

It took them a second to see the large giant beginning to stand up from the dead titan.

Kane paled as he stared at the titan.

It was different.

The image that came to mind was of Greek sculptures depicting the peak human condition.

Murphy, his gunner, slowly aimed the remote controlled .50 caliber at it, but stopped as he noticed the strange behavior on the titans behind the new monster.

Mikasa blinked, confused as she opened her eyes.

She was even more confused when she noticed the other titans in the area beginning to screech and roar, as if this new appearance was a threat.

The suddenly slow moving beasts actually began to charge at it.

Not at the humans on the ground, but the titan that had just… appeared.

Before anyone could react the, the mysterious titan turned around and grabbed the skinny fifteen meter titan by the neck and crushed it in one swift motion.

The second titan, a nimble eight meter class, was stopped as the taller beast slammed its foot on it over and over again, quite literally turning it into a paste.

For the humans on the ground, the scene was sickening.

Blood almost flooded the street, and Jean found himself doused in it, but he was too in shock to care.

The mysterious titan roared then.

Even within the MRAP, it was nearly deafening.

With two giants dead, the rogue titan glanced at the humans behind it for an instant, and then began to walk away from them, seeing other titans in the distance.

Mikasa stared at the carcass of the giant that had eaten Eren for a moment.

_There's no body…_

"I-is everybody okay?!" Karina was the first to

Petra barely managed to call out "Everyone over here is!"

"Jesus… what the hell?!" Kane breathed.

"Eren was one of the… one of the people with that abnormality in the their blood, right?" Eld asked Karina who simply nodded.

"If that's the case… then…"

"What abnormality?"

All eyes turned to Jean, who appeared to be fine except for the bruise over his right eye.

Eld sighed, saying

"Need to know information, sorry."

"What are you talking about? I saw that titan just… just pop right out of another! It can't be a coincidence it ate Eren!"

"Of course it isn't! But we suspected… we didn't expect him to act like this… or to turn into… well, _that_!" Karina yelled back, completely frustrated with the lack of information.

That was all Mikasa needed to hear.

Without a word she began to chase after the rogue giant.

Matt blinked, covered his eyes and said "Of course… a simple recovery op can't be so simple… ever…"

"We can't just let her go!" Jean yelled.

Kane sighed, and grabbed a radio "Of course we can't… Colonel… not sure if you can see this, but…"

Distant roars and crashing noises were heard.

"We have a developing situation here."

…

Armin sat on the roof, eyeing the American machinery below.

_That's what a modern defense looks like…_

Reiner checked the barrel on the machine gun, saying "Hasn't overheated yet… which is good, but… what the hell is going on over there?"

Armin nervously gripped the M1 Garand.

"I don't know… Eren and Jean had an issue but… they've gone silent and the commanding officers aren't saying anything about it."

He glanced at a far point of the district, where explosions could be heard and seen.

"See-ohs, Armin. Easier to say than commanding officers." Daz breathed, still shaking as he looked down the sight of his rifle.

Reiner ignored him and asked "You think something is wrong with Eren?"

Armin shrugged nervously.

"I… I thought he had learned his lesson after the sergeant chewed him for not pulling back that time but… what if…?"

Reiner frowned just as a scout arrived on the roof.

"Here, another box of ammo. If you guys are running out, supply depot is by the trucks."

"Thanks, I- hey, aren't you that… Ilse Langnar scout?"

The girl seemed exasperated by the question but nodded simply.

Armin immediately perked up, asking "You-you have seen the other world in person?"

Ilse nodded.

"I… anything they haven't talked to us about that you know?" Reiner asked.

Ilse narrowed her eyes and said "Yeah, the leaves don't change color during the fall in some places and people think monarchies are outdated, some places are prettier than others and getting an idea of how big the world is becomes easier once you see how many people there are, any actually important questions?"

Armin opened his mouth but she said "Please save them for after the fight… live through the next hour and we can chat all you want."

The look of worry in her eyes reminded Armin of the situation they were in.

Most of the fifteen meter types that towered over the homes and buildings were dead or too far away to kill without risk, so the plan was to funnel them all into one area and destroy them as they appeared.

For the moment, the main street was eerily silent, though they could hear the booming footsteps of the enemy.

Ryan held on to a sabot round, his ears focusing in on the noise outside.

"All units, be advised, tangos are approaching through the center street, others should appear on the left and right flanks almost at once. Get ready!" The radio crackled.

The _Harvester_ shifted slowly as it calculated the exact position the first titan would appear on the other end of the street.

Outside, Ryan knew, stood exposed Army and Marine personnel with all matter of heavy arms, mostly .50 cals and anti-tank weapons like MK 153s and BGM-71s.

He tensed up as the footsteps of the enemy were no longer being drowned out by the Abrams' engine.

"God, I pray my stuff survives this battle should it come to our demise…" he said loud enough to be heard, remembering he was still missing something quite valuable.

"_Dear God, _I pray his stuff survives but that I get to keep it."

He wanted to kick his gunner, but the first giant appeared at the end of the street, followed by another and another.

The creatures were running, and given their size of ten meters, it wasn't exactly easy to miss as they tried to push past each other.

Armin felt the ground shake as the Abrams fired first with their main guns before immediately switching to the coaxial machine guns.

The three titans that had been eliminated were immediately replaced by slower ones that appeared behind them.

"Reiner!"

Almost as if he had been in charge of the entire battle group, the entire third line of defense began to fire into the oncoming horde.

The cadets fired both machine guns and modified rifles from the rooftops, the heavy rounds tearing through flesh and bone.

Still they came.

.50 caliber machine guns fired with pinpoint accuracy by trained soldiers tore through flesh as hot led collided with the giants.

Still they came.

Missiles with the express purpose of destroying enemy tanks flew down the street and slammed into their targets a hundred meters away.

Still they came.

Uranium depleted rounds designed to melt through enemy armor tore through the advancing giants, pulverizing the smaller ones as the heat was too much for any of them to put up a fight against.

And still they came.

"Sabot up!" Ryan shouted as moved out of the way.

"On the way!"

_**BOOM**_

Two five meter tall titans went down, a hail of tracer rounds following their collapse.

A titan tried stepping over them to try and get closer to them only for a TOW to slam into its chest.

Another hail of tracer bullets followed it on its way to the ground.

The titans smiled uncaringly as their ilk died.

Their destruction was guaranteed and absolute.

_So long as the ammo held out._

Ryan frowned, wondering if the titans would run out of bodies or if their ammunition would manage to outlast the enemy.

"Ryan, prep a HEAT round next… let's try to conserve our ammo." Darnell said, quickly bringing the tanker back into the fight.

"Got it!"

…

Mikasa watched as the rogue titan tore others of its kind apart with hatred that she had _very_ much seen somewhere before.

Behind her she could hear explosions and gunfire.

_The titans have reached the Alamo… _

A worrisome detail she was noticing was that the other beasts were seemingly attracted to this rogue titan.

Which, according to Nurse Karina, might actually be Eren…

She wanted to test that hypothesis, but she wasn't sure how to do it.

Mentally, she was kicking herself for suddenly acting in such an irrational manner.

She had no idea if Eren had suddenly turned into a titan, she had no idea if it was even Eren in there anymore, and she had no idea or interest or time to wonder what implications might accompany that possibility.

All she knew was that Eren was inside a titan one second, a titan came out of that titan after she killed it, and Eren was no longer in there.

Seeing a titan jump up from behind her, she used her gear to break in midair and zoom out of the way.

The giant landed on a home, destroying the roof before turning to her.

She had messed up and forgotten the M107.

No matter, she was more skilled with blades.

The ODM gear was a fascinating piece of engineering, allowing her to move with such speed and control.

Unfortunately for her, the titan leaped right at her instead of staying still.

Quick to adapt she turned and slid across the top of the giant's bald head, seeing the exposed nape, she went in for the kill.

She once again landed on a rooftop and took a breath.

The rogue titan that may or may not be related to Eren had torn three other titans apart in the moments it had taken her to destroy one on her own.

Her radio crackled slightly, intelligible gargles barely being audible.

_Of course it got damaged when that titan appeared…_

Unsure of what to do next, she noticed the figure of Jean and Marco fly over some rooftops.

She waved at them and they seemed to have seen her.

Marco landed first, taking a breath he said "Are you insane?!"

Mikasa said nothing.

Jean appeared and said "There are _way _too many titans around the exit of Shiganshina, so we are effectively stuck behind enemy lines until air support can arrive. Mikasa, what were you thinking?!"

Mikasa winced, feeling guilty for dragging her team into it but before she could say anything, Jean simply said "Lucky for you, the Colonel wants us to keep that thing alive…"

The titan roared once more, attracting even more attention from the titans in the distance.

"You know… the son of a bitch really, really, _really _reminds me of Yeager…" Jean growled.

"Is it possible that it's Eren?" Marco asked.

Mikasa said nothing.

"I don't know, but the nurse and those scouts sure seem to think so… Mikasa, did he ever show any signs?" Jean asked.

Mikasa shook her head as the giant in the distance lifted a skinny twelve meter titan and used it like a bat to swipe at smaller ones.

The MRAP and the Humvee arrived below them and out came the Americans and the scouts, except for the one guy who manned the gun on the Humvee.

The dark skinned driver of the Humvee shouted "How many rounds do you guys have left?"

"I-"

"If you need more it's in the back, got it?!"

Jake walked over to Kane and Eld, worried given their location.

"This'll do nicely." Kane mumbled.

"Will it?!" Jake half asked, half demanded.

"One way street, and its wide enough to turn and run if we have to. The couple of boots up there can warn us if anything we can't handle shows up and we begin to pull back."

"Plus, the buildings are tall enough that we can begin taking them out without risk of friendly fire from your side." Eld added.

"So… you guys handle the street next to us, the cadets act as snipers and- and we hold the street here?"

Kane nodded with a grin.

"Easiest way to keep titans from overwhelming our friend over there and all we have to do is hold for fifteen minutes."

Booming footsteps in the distance caused Jake to turn to look at the end of the street.

"Damn it, if it works… you guys have anything other than the M4?" he asked, noticing that Kane was carrying a simple M4 without an M203 attached.

"Petra? Oluo?" Kane called.

The two scouts placed the large crates they had carried into the MRAP on the ground.

"MK 153 SMAW, two types of rockets… we take down buildings with these babies."

"They gave you _thermobaric rockets?!_"

Kane nodded.

Jake shuddered at the smiling Marine before saying "Just don't get us killed."

"You wanna live forever?"

Jake said nothing as he moved to the Humvee.

Eld shouted "Good luck!" before using his gear to scale a building, Petra and Oluo following suit.

"So… we hold here until the flyboys arrive?" Dave asked.

"Yeah." Jake replied calmly, grabbing a 40mm grenade.

"Wait, here? What about-?" Mikasa began, Matt cutting her off.

"We keep titans from your precious ken doll, that way when air support arrives in fifteen minutes we can catch him in one piece instead of him being overrun by his own kind."

_Damned things seem to want to eat him… which seems to confirm the brass' suspicions…_

Mikasa nodded as Dave handed her the M107 once more.

"Don't ever drop this again. I don't care if your radio broke, you don't abandon your weapon."

The girl nodded.

"Alright, now we need you to focus. Get up there and keep an eye out for us."

She nodded.

…

The intense sun of gunfire and explosions slightly distracted parker when the operator shouted "Colonel, titans from the rear are pulling back! They're heading for-"

Parker paled at the words and used his binoculars to get visual confirmation.

Sure enough, the enemy in the back was turning around, heading straight for that long haired beast fighting its own kind further in the back.

"God damn it, could we get our tanks over there?!"

"Colonel… the risk to the tanks would-"

"Can we do it?!"

_It violates the rules of engagement, but i am not giving thee bastards the slightest taste of victory!_

"I can see about sixty titans storming the Alamo. Once we overwhelm them the tanks could speed ahead and catch up the unit back there, but… It's your order, colonel."

It was risky, but if they did it at the right time, when there were almost no titans between the maybe Eren maybe something else titan, then they could try to capture it, and get some answers.

"Alright, we send two of our tanks forward alongside some mechanized infantry support once the current enemies have been dealt with. We keep the rest of our forces here in case our enemies have some nasty surprises set up."

_The armored titan has yet to appear after all._

…

Reiner wasn't sure what he was doing anymore.

He was firing in fairly controlled bursts, albeit long ones, and making sure the barrel didn't overheat, but why bother? There were ten other machine gun positions either occupied by the members of the 104th or the American military and that wasn't including the guns on the tanks and HMVs!

Every time he stopped to reload, four other guns took his place.

Not that it mattered to the monsters still storming their lines.

No, like the nightmares brought to life that they were, the titans advanced and didn't know the meaning of the word "retreat". But it did them no favors here.

Many were still, by comparison to bullets and the war machines the Americans had brought, slow moving, and those that actually ran were too big to miss, so they just became sponges for the heavy rounds coming from every gun not focusing on something else.

They were inching closer, though.

Armin breathed in and actually giggled childishly, something Reiner noted over the gunfire.

Reiner turned to him, asking "something wrong?"

"Chokepoints! We could never get them to work, but… look!"

Reiner stared at the dissipating mound of titan corpses that littered the very end of the street.

Chokepoints were an easy strategy for anyone to understand. Take an enemy army, any size, and put them on a narrow path so that only a small amount of it can ever be facing your men.

Theoretically, you could hold out with a force far smaller than the one you are currently facing.

A single titan facing even a dozen humans would curb stomp them with great ease in an open field, even the Americans had found it somewhat challenging dealing with every single titan in an area as open as the fields of Wall Maria.

But put them at a point where only some of them can attack at a time…

So long as the ammo holds out, any modern force could deal with it.

_Provided they were using guns like on those tanks, of course._

He wasn't sure what made the shells being used so effective or accurate, but they were making mincemeat of the titans.

Daz brought him back to reality.

"H-hey! Hey, hey, hey! Look! The titans are retreating! The titans are retreating!"

_Wait, what?_

Sure enough, the top of some titans could be seen in the distance, moving away from the Alamo, towards…

Reiner could faintly see some smoke in the distance, and he wondered if the forces sent out there were causing more trouble than expected.

_But then why would so many titans move towards it? _

"I don't understand. There's a far higher concentration of humans here." Armin mumbled just as orders to cease fire came through.

"All members of the 104th, standby for orders, I say again, stand by for orders. Be ready to move out and push the enemy back!"

Before anybody could protest or question it another statement was made over the radio.

"The Air Cavalry has arrived."

…

Gunther landed on the street as a skinny ten meter type crashed into a nearby house, dead.

He grabbed his knee, somewhat pained as he had strained… _some _muscle within his leg while maneuvering back there and was now feeling it.

Oluo landed next to him, asking "You alright?"

"Titan threw me off… leg got messed up. How is it looking back-?"

"More titans coming! Looks like our friend back there shook the God damned hive!" the small radio crackled.

Oluo chuckled slightly saying "Good news is, we only have to hold on a few more minutes before the air support arrives."

A quick, consistent booming alerted them to a speedy abnormal that ran at them.

With a jerk of its legs, it shoved itself aside and slammed into a building before they could react, demolishing it and crossing into the next street.

Kane cursed as he duck behind the MRAP, debris bouncing off his Kevlar helmet, the browning never letting up as five meter monsters assailed them.

Several had been crushed by the fat fifteen meter type that had just slammed into the street, destroying a building in the process, but several remained.

Its head was pelted with 40mm grenades from Matt's MK 19, aside from tearing the head to pieces, not much was being done in terms of destroying the weak point.

Damned thing was too close for comfort as Murphy moved the gun down, adding more injuries to the wounded beast.

With a shake, the monster began to dissipate.

Just in time for another fat ten meter type to appear.

"Fire in the hole!" Dave shouted, tossing a grenade way down the street.

It knocked down the one titan as it tore one of its legs from under it, leaving a crawling beast to deal with.

"Matt!"

"Got it!"

After two short bursts from the gun, the creature had no head or neck to speak of.

At least the MK 19 was good at _that._

Kane checked his M4 for an instant as the cadets above continued providing support.

He had to admit, he was glad that none of the larger titans approaching them could see.

"Kane, the titans are moving in on us, I count forty that stopped their attack on Alamo and are now heading towards us." Mikasa said over the radio they had lent her.

"Got it…"

"They're coming from the broken entrance as well."

_Oh, goody, more fun!_

"God- okay- oh!"

A fifteen meter titan began to approach from the end of the street.

It moved slowly, but that was due to its large body mass.

Kane pushed all intimidation aside and grabbed the MK 153, which was already loaded.

He fired a thermobaric rocket directly at the neck, a set path the rocket obediently followed.

Whatever was left of the titan fell backwards onto another home at the end of the street.

Kane took a breath, annoyed at the increasing amount of steam and smoke.

"Everyone, we have to start pulling back. Right now! We got incoming from all sides!" Jean shouted.

He had counted ten titan kills so far, which didn't seem like much, and in reality it wasn't, but the amount of firepower the damned things could absorb sometimes was just plain unfair.

He glanced at Matt who was reloading the MK 19 for one second.

You need less time in a warzone for everything to change.

"Look-!" Matt had started to shout.

A titan that crawled on all fours like a spider appeared, the damned thing materializing from behind the cloud of steam and slammed into the MRAP, sending Kane flying into the street.

_Where the hell did that come from?!_

It ignored the MRAP and lunged at him.

Kane reached for a grenade, not about to be chewed up or crushed, but he couldn't be fast enough.

The cruel grin of the monster stopped inches from his legs as Mikasa chopped of the neck.

It would have been a moment of two different soldiers nodding their heads, as if acknowledging each other if it wasn't for the fact that the titans were beginning to swarm them.

A large hand grabbed the girl as a titan crushed its way through a building attempting to stuff her into its mouth.

Eld was immediately on it, slicing its neck with ease, which appeared to be good news until Mikasa fell to the floor, screaming in pain as she landed on a pile of wood and stone.

The titan had squeezed her enough that her gear simply broke apart.

Kane got up, screaming into the radio "Murph, rev up the car!"

_Nurse Karina is still with us maybe she has-_

The girl was visibly in pain enough for Jean to hop down and try to help her.

"Mikasa, are you okay?!"

The girl didn't reply as she tried to stand up to no avail.

_Dumb question…_

Jake ran up, slinging the M4 and helping the kid lift her up.

"Over here!" Murphy shouted, moving the MRAP to them, flipping the back open.

"Jake, we have to move!" Matt called, firing a long burst into a ten meter type that was apparently enjoying the grenades hitting its face and knocking it around.

Nurse Karina, albeit nervously helped the girl on board as Kane supported himself on the door.

"W-wait- Eren, I have to-"

"Kid, stop thinking about it! Now is not the time for-" Jake began only to curse as a fifteen meter tall titan blocked their getaway path.

"Murph?" Kane asked.

".50 isn't responding, man…"

Fire from a rooftop alerted them to Marco, now wielding the M107, knocking down the large titan.

Albeit at the cost of an entire magazine.

"Move!"

Jean grit his teeth in pain because despite his friends efforts, three more titans appeared.

It was just a constant back and forth now.

They killed one titan with varying degrees of ease, two more appeared.

Kane grimaced, realizing how badly they had screwed up.

"Matt! Take care of that building! We're busting our way out of here!" Jake shouted shutting the door on the MRAP and running to the Humvee, leaving Jean and Nurse Karina to care for the wounded girl.

_Not that it matters, but we have to try…_

"Got it!" he shouted back, turning the full destructive power of an automatic grenade launcher on an old building.

Unlike killing titans, he felt kind of bad for destroying the relatively pretty structure.

The building collapsed and the MRAP sped through it, the Humvee following suit.

"Guys, we're pulling pack!" Petra shouted seeing the two American cars pull away from the incoming titans.

"About time… though it isn't exactly good news for…"

The titan they had been trying to protect was now facing an entire horde on its own, and the damage was beginning to show it.

"Eld, get your people away from there right now!" the radio chattered, Jake yelling the orders.

"Yeah, don't have to tell me twice… Let's go!"

He could see the wall of bodies headed for them over the buildings.

Within the MRAP, the poor girl was restless.

"Mikasa, please!" Jean tried to reason while trying to hold the girl down.

"It's just some broken ribs! I-I can still fight!"

"With _what_, sticks?! Marco has your rifle and your last blades broke back there!" Karina replied, grabbing some anesthetic.

"We can't just abandon Eren… please… we can't just…"

Whether for pushing herself too far or the pain finally knocking her senseless, the girl began to lose consciousness.

"Nurse… do you really think that titan is-?"

"Don't know, don't ask right now! Just help me keep your friend alive!"

The MRAP stopping suddenly almost knocked the three people to the floor.

Jean looked up, seeing the large face staring at them.

"God damn it…" Kane groaned.

The titan was just lying there on the ground, staring contently at its prey while blocking their path.

He could hear the booming footsteps behind them.

"Is… is there no stopping these things?!" Karina demanded out of frustration.

Jean wasn't sure anymore.

They had thrown everything at them, yet this resilience, this ability to never stop… humanity couldn't compete with that.

He was tired, Mikasa was out of commission and Marco was pulling back with team Levi.

He was too distracted to hear the radio crackle to life.

He was too distracted to hear the off putting music.

He did, however, hear Jake laughing almost maniacally.

The sound of explosions behind them woke him up.

_What the hell was that!?_

Music?

A man(?) was singing on the radio waves to a steady beat that… worried him of anything as to the sanity of their saviors.

_**All you women who want a man of the street but you don't know which way you wanna turn… just keep coming and put your hand out to me cause I'm the one that's gonna make you burn…**_

Kane laughed, "Army First Cavalry! Those crazy bastards!"

"Excuse me, but what is _**that?!**_"

_**I'm gonna take you down- down, down, down. So don't you fool around- I'm gonna pull it, pull it pull the trigger…**_

"Ah, look up AC/DC after this. Jake, what do you guys see?" he called over the radio.

"Angels with guns, man!"

Glancing outside, Jean saw the helicopters, flying fairly low, firing into streets.

_**Shoot to thrill, play to kill! Too many women with too many pills, shoot to thrill play to kill- I got my gun at the ready and I fire at will, yeah!**_

Outside, Petra heard the crazy music and sighed when Marco asked "What kind of music is _that?!_"

"Ask one of the boys from 1st Cavalry… thank God…" she breathed, sitting down on a rooftop as Marine Hueys and Cobras accompanied Army UH-60s. Rockets and bullets hit from up high, the titans unable to do anything about it.

The roar of jets high above descended as several Marine Harriers began to strafe the ground where titans stood.

Gigantic bodies tumbled like a house of cards when twenty millimeter auto cannons met flesh.

An M1 Abrams rolled in front of Kane's MRAP and the commander waved asking over the radio "You guys okay?"

"Back hurts a bit from carrying this battle for you Army dogs, but…"

The commander laughed, saying "Right, we're escorting you guys back. This area is about to get leveled." He replied as large explosions rang out.

"Yeah, but first, we need to pick someone up."

Jean wondered about Eren or the titan that might be related to him.

He glanced at Mikasa and hoped she could get over the loss.

…

"What the hell is he doing?!" the warrior demanded, even if she couldn't ask it out loud.

"I don't know…" the other warrior sighed, seeing their "leader" cheering as the entire titan horde was blown to bits little by little by American air power.

Wasn't the plan to attack and kidnap Eren if it turned out he was, indeed, a shifter?

Now they weren't even sure what the status of Yeager was, just that _something had happened._

For all they knew, it could just be the Americans trying to rescue him… assuming he was alive.

"This was a mistake, we should have-"

"Doesn't matter anymore, we can't do anything with those flying machines now. The four helicopters, maybe but even those hurt me earlier. These aircraft? No way…"

"Humph… I wonder how Mister Warrior over there will spin this."

"He'll probably- wait, what is that?"

A single titan was being dragged by an American tank, its limbs gone, the creature appeared to be dead.

_Wait, it __**is **__dead!_

It was dissipating away little by little.

"What the hell? Did they just shoot it to pieces?"

There was a Humvee driving ahead of the tanks, and the gunner on it suddenly leaped from the car and started screaming and pointing at the dissipating carcass.

Some of the cadets took notice and began to stare at the body.

"Was it supposed to die?" the warrior asked aloud.

The Americans seemingly panicking at the sight answered his question.

Armin appeared out of nowhere and stared at the dead monster.

"Armin, what is happening?" one of the two warriors asked.

"E-Eren was hurt… so they sent a team to rescue him… he apparently was eaten by a titan but when that titan was killed this one just… appeared and started fighting the titans near it, even attracting them to it."

"That's why we wounded up facing fewer titans than we expected?"

The blonde nodded.

"The Americans used their guns to knock it down because they wanted to catch it, but he- it was… it was just chasing after other titans so…" Armin was detached, hoping against hope for what he had been told to be true.

_We suspect Eren could be a titan somehow, but that's just a suspicion. Tell no one._

Fate, unfortunately, had other plans.

Matt cursed under his breath as he realized that the giant was clearly dead.

"I don't get it! they regenerate their arms, how is he dead?!"

It was Ryan who said "He was pretty chewed up when we got to him, maybe… maybe one of them…"

Team Levi landed almost in unison, unsure of what they could add.

"Is there anything we can do? Maybe we can-" Petra began.

"No, it's done for… sorry." Eld sighed.

"Not your fault…" Matt replied, albeit frustrated.

_It's like the universe wants to play with us…_

"God damn it! It's just… this was… he was a huge leap if captured!" Matt said.

"What about the other kids with weird blood? Maybe this is confirmation." Oluo started.

"Yeah, but what if it isn't? What if-?"

Jake stopped the conversation in its track, saying "What the hell is that?"

He pointed at something moving within the neck.

Given the steam it was hard to see, but a figure appeared and rolled away from the neck of the titan, falling to the floor.

Several cadets noticed and ran ahead, some no longer interested in seeing the display of firepower nearby.

"Oh, sweet Jesus…" Matt breathed.

Oluo narrowed his eyes, saying "Well I'll be damned… Guess you guys were on to something."

The warriors that had stopped to look went pale, knowing now more than ever that they were defeated.

Barely breathing, somewhat burned, clearly unconscious, but by all accounts breathing and alive, Eren Yeager lay motionless in front of the forces that had held Wall Maria from Humanity's enemy.

* * *

**A/N: Merry Christmas! For starters, I want to thank MM995 for suggesting I use Greek myths for naming the titans (although I mostly named the program itself after it), rdawamindra for suggesting I add some music to some scenes, and to all of you for suggesting specific weapons that could work against titans and overall giving me some extra ideas that I could use in the review section! I would also like to apologize for the extra-long wait of this chapter, finals really messed up my schedule, but I tried to make up for it by combining two chapters into one big battle. I originally wanted to make this a two part battle, cut it off when Eren got swallowed, but it didn't feel right to leave you all in another cliffhanger.**

**Hopefully this was an enjoyable rad as I changed some things from cannon but also kept elements from both the original battle of Trost from AOT and battle of Italica from the Gate cannon, although I think this is where a lot of my ignorance about military procedure really shows.**

**Now, before this Reviewer response I will have to apologize again as many questions pertain to the future of the story, and while I very much appreciate and love reading these short questions about "how will our world react to x event from the AOT timeline" (seriously, you guys have made me consider some things I had completely overlooked when planning this story, I cannot thank you enough) I can't really answer them without spoiling any material, so any questions pertaining to the ufuture of the story will usually be answered with a simple "we'll see". Apologies. **

**On to the reviewer response:**

**Guest- Will you be shipping any of the characters?**

**Not more than what we see in the anime and manga. Shipping isn't really my strong suit, but given where the events of the manga, I may have to adjust a tiny bit for a certain pairing… or two. I don't plan on shipping OCs with anybody if that's of any concern.**

**Guest- US weaponizing titans and Eldians?**

**Personally, I doubt it. Titans aren't very practical in modern warfare, but I do seem some potential in the whole "Ackerman-titan" experiments which could lead to super soldiers. Although I don't see that happening any time soon, which leads me to the next question:**

**Guest- Shouldn't the nurse notice the oddities in Mikasa's blood as well as Levi's?**

**I wish the manga gave some more details as to where these powers ended and where they began. We know they are incredibly skilled, fast, and physically strong, but other than that they don't seem to be able to regenerate or grow to titan size or use any of the abilities of the 9 titans… unless that's a reveal for another chapter in the manga… regardless, given that we have seen several Ackermans die from things as simple as knife wounds (Mikasa's father), I think whatever relations they have to titans wouldn't be as detectable or pronounced as someone with the power of one of the 9 titans. But I could be wrong.**

**Guest- when are they getting their dog tags?**

**I guess when their industry starts working on them? Honestly, I didn't really prioritize that as it seems that the military within the walls uses patches as IDs so it may take a while to introduce that. Doubt the US would do it as they were focusing on the weapons. Good point, though.**

**Guest- Will the Big Red be coming to save them?**

**Sorry, 1****st**** Cavalry was selected to be the relief force along with elements of the 2****nd**** Marine Air Wing. **

**Guest- thought on the latest manga chapters?**

**You want my thoughts? Okay! "Isayama, you rat! You made me think one thing so I planned to write it down but you gave ME, your loyal reader the old Spicy Plot Twist! How could you give ME, your loyal reader, the old Spicy Plot Twist?"**

**Also, I have never felt as bad for Mikasa and Armin and… that person.**

**Music Man- Distracting titans with loudspeakers and classical music?**

**I thought about it, but the scenario didn't seem to give much room for it. I even feel the little mission to save a wounded Eren was incredibly contrived, so I can't see a soldier without ODM gear trying to do that… maybe for a later part of the story, though.**

**Guest- Mentioning Japanese war crimes?**

**Not a bad idea, actually… could be brought up in a later arc.**

**Guest- giving the cadets walkie talkies or radios?**

**Yes, actually. **

**Guest- why haven't our scientists examined the wall and its composition?**

**Not a priority as of yet. They're busy looking at titans, searching for natural resources and helping modernize the walled civilization, so it probably won't come up until later. **

**Guest: uploading schedule for the story?**

**I try to upload once a month, but given my classes it may unfortunately get delayed.**

**Once again, I apologize for not answering any questions pertaining future events in the story like what Ymir will do or if the giant Rodd titan will appear, but I do intend on answering them while the plot continues to advance.**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for reading! I hope this was an enjoyable read, but if there is anything that felt off or could be improved, feel free to let me know!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Revelation 13:9**

* * *

First-hand accounts of those who have actually died and come back from the dead vary as to what the human brain sees in those last moments.

Accounts, of course, vary.

A bright light, dead family members welcoming them into the afterlife, the face of God, the whole of their life flashing before their eyes, nothing, something, or a mix of everything. Theories abound, perhaps the brain has this reaction as it shuts down, or perhaps there is some form of afterlife and some people see it as they transition. In truth, no one can know for sure if there is.

That said, if one were to ask Eren Yeager, he wouldn't know he had technically died twice over in the last three hours, or if what he had seen was actually real or just a figment of the imagination.

Bodies hit by rounds heavy enough to take down an elephant don't last long after the fact, yet his somehow had.

No human being had survived being swallowed whole by a titan, yet he somehow had.

All of it had happened without his knowledge of course.

In his mind, all he vaguely remembered was falling off a rooftop, distantly hearing the annoying and unintelligible ramblings of Jean, who seemed to be mad about something.

He somewhat remembered hearing the cries of a girl in the distance, calling out to him. Mikasa? Impossible, she was across the district at the time, right?

_If you want to save Mikasa and Armin…_

He remembered feeling a searing heat.

_You need to head to the basement!_

He remembered his anger flaring up. Was he going to die? He hadn't wiped the enemy of humanity from the earth yet. How could he die without at least seeing to that? Especially now that he had the weapons to go about it… then he heard the cacophony of voices.

_Everything you need is in that basement. _

_The land beyond the walls…_

_Who would be stupid enough to think theres anything out there?_

_Lands of fire and snow, a gigantic lake filled with an endless supply of salt!_

_It's too dangerous, you would be throwing your life away!_

_We'll see it someday, I know it!_

_Eren!_

He felt anger. He remembered how every single problem led back to the monsters trying to devour humanity, the creatures holding them in that captive state.

He wanted to destroy them all, that was his goal, it had always been his goal.

The memories became muddled, yet… pleasant somehow.

He felt powerful.

Powerful enough to destroy those that threatened him.

More powerful than he had felt when he had actually killed a titan with the new weapons.

So powerful that… that he was crushing bones and tearing chunks of flesh bigger than himself.

That he could…

That he was _going _to-

"Kill… all of you." he spoke aloud with a pleased smile forming on his sleepy face just as the vague memories he had been recalling faded completely into obscurity with awakening from the slumber.

Throughout medical history, doctors have needed to examine patient's vitals, the stethoscope being one of the tools used to do so, allowing the doctor and anyone with an ear for that matter, to listen to heartbeats from a patient.

Armin could only be thankful the American doctor was distracted when Eren spoke.

Unfortunately, doctors are perceptive.

"Something wrong, Arlert?" the doctor asked.

Armin immediately changed the horrified look on his face for one that was more relaxed before saying "I-I think he's awake, sir!"

The doctor noted the oddly pleased look on Eren Yeager, seeing the young man had indeed opened his eyes.

"Alright, Eren Yeager, can you hear me?" the doctor asked, grabbing a notepad and pen.

"H-huh?"

"Eren Yeager? Are you in fact, Eren Yeager?"

Eren nodded slowly as the older man spoke.

"Well that's good; he seems to at least be responsive. Ill contact the-"

Booming footsteps increased in volume from the hallway outside.

"Oh, dear God!" the doctor mumbled, dropping his things and rushing to the door, clicking it locked.

On the small, square window, a manic face appeared, gluing itself to it, obscuring any view of the hallway outside. The eyes darted every which way before settling on the boy on the bed.

"He just got out of the sedatives! Miss, I highly recommend you wait a few minutes before-"

"W-who the hell is that?!" Eren interrupted, somewhat panicked by the somehow terrifying person behind the door.

"E-Eren, I need you to stay calm. But we have to ask if you remember anything that happened earlier today." His friend said, trying to keep Eren focused on the question and not whatever was outside the door.

The young man blinked and began thinking back.

_Just complimented Jean on not doing an awful job… wait, how did I get here?_

"I... the last thing I remember is being on a rooftop with Jean. Then it all goes black… except…"

Now he could vaguely recall fighting, crushing things… but that had just been a dream, right?

"Do you remember getting shot?" the doctor asked.

Eren blinked, recalling that something had happened but unable to remember what it was, his hand subconsciously moving to his side, feeling that there was no injury there.

Then he heard the faint voice.

Just a small, familiar voice, screaming in the distance that he was, indeed, alive.

_He's still alive!_

_Mikasa!_

"I… I remember Mikasa, saying that I was still alive… is she okay? Where is she?"

"Next room, across the hall, she has some minor fractures on her ribs, but other than that, she should be fine. The question is… what else do you remember?"

"Armin, why all questions? Did I do something wrong?"

Armin nervously looked at the doctor.

The doctor didn't reply.

"For God's sake, if you aren't going to tell him let me do it!" the somewhat muffled voice of the frightening person standing outside rang.

The doctor took a breath and opened the door, allowing the possibly insane scientist of the Survey Corps to enter the small room.

The first thing Hanji did was look deeply into the boy's eyes.

Then she glanced at his arms.

Then she bluntly asked "Are you aware of your ability to transform into a titan?"

Eren was silent for all of one second, confused by the question.

Then he was in denial that this woman had suggested something so ludacris.

"Titan? What are you talking about?! Armin, is she crazy?"

The concerned look from Armin immediately drove Eren into stage 2, anger.

"It's impossible! I am a _human!_ Always have been! Armin, tell them!"

"I-"

"And _why_ on earth would I be a titan?! Do I _look_ like one?!"

"We have proof…" Hanji replied, never dropping her friendly demeanor.

"Yeah? Where is it?"

Eren glanced at Armin who was trying to hand him a small computer with a video on the screen, the Americans guidebooks called it a tablet as it served similar purpose to the ancient stone tablets of previous civilizations, recording information. Granted, these did much, much more than the ancients could ever dream of, such as the moving image he could see on this one.

There was an American tank dragging a seemingly dead titan.

Nothing too strange about it, a capture attempt probably went wrong, maybe it was for the better, less of them to worry about.

That is until a person emerged from the nape and fell right to the floor.

Seeing his face appear as soldiers picked him up catapulted the teenager from stage 2 to stage 4, depression, in an instant.

"I… huh? I don't understand… I don't understand!"

Hanji sighed.

"We were afraid of that." the mysterious woman sighed.

It was then that Eren noted the Survey Corps patch on her jacket.

"You're with the scouts?"

"Affirmative! Now, all I need to know is how exactly did you come across such a power? Any ideas? Perhaps memories hidden away in a closet or… a basement?"

Eren blinked before understanding dawned on him.

_You must reach that basement… if you want to save Mikasa and Armin…_

"My father's key… but… we checked the basement, the key didn't work on the lock, and the basement just held some books!"

Hanji nodded, saying "Your young friend Armin here mentioned it. we're scouring the books you have salvaged, but we have a theory that its possible you missed something. not like you turned the place upside down looking for some, I don't know… laboratory with all the secrets of the universe or machine that explains how titans are created or…" the girl turned beat red as she began to recite possible treasures hidden within the basement.

Armin sighed, turning to the Eren and saying "Jean saw your injury, but it's completely gone now… Eren, if your father left a secret for you in there, then it _has_ to be related to the titans."

Eren stared at his hands, frustared with his lack of understanding.

Why had he transformed into a titan?

Why hadn't he died immediately upon getting shot?

How many titan powers did he have?

"Right… we need to head back to the basement."

…

"Man, I am _beat_!" Connie breathed as he placed a large brick on a pile of broken pieces of what had once been houses and shops.

The titan horde had thankfully avoided destroying too many buildings, seemingly only resorting to it when they knew their prey was hiding nearby.

Still, there was plenty of debris to clear up, especially near the barracks.

Fences and some of the prefab buildings had been crushed by the giants, though some of the damage had apparently been caused by Eren when… _whatever_ was within him allowed him to do whatever he had done.

All Connie knew was that a bell had been used to crush the head of a ten meter titan, and he wasn't sure _how_ it even got there, just that it was there and it was up to Samuel and Thomas to move it.

"Hey, you guys! I got some cold water if you want any!" a pleasant feminine voice called.

The young Christa Lenz ran up to the tired members of the 104th with a fairly heavy looking backpack, and a bottle of water in her hand.

"Ah, Christa, you are a life saver!" Connie exclaimed, happy to take the refreshments.

He took the water and looked around, surprised Ymir hadn't appeared as she usually did whenever Christa interacted with someone other than her.

He shrugged, opening the cold bottle and enjoying the drink.

He heard the characteristic sound of ODM gear zooming above him just as Christa began handing some water to Thomas, the poor cadet being shoved aside by the Ymir as she landed.

"There you are, Christa! Finally found you!"

"Thomas! Ymir what are you doing?!"

"Huh? Oh… he's fine, I just bumped into him…"

The blonde got up, with a frown before saying "Could you at least wait your turn? Honestly, where have you been?"

"Cut me some slack, they wanted me handing ammo to the guys near the breach! They just cut me loose and there's been something I wanted to show you!" she said, clearly excited.

Christa sighed, saying "Honestly, Ymir can it wait? It's been a rough day…"

"Ah? Maybe you'll change your mind when you see… _this!_"

From within her jacket, the girl grabbed what appeared to be a small computer, which actually took a second for Christa to recognize.

"Isn't that the game computer that soldier carries around?" she asked.

Ymir grinning like a cat was all the affirmation Christa needed.

"I take it he lent it to you?"

Ymir couldn't answer before Samuel.

"She said she pilfered it earlier today. How did you manage to keep that on you throughout everything that's happened, anyway?"

Ymir slowly turned to the exhausted cadet with a glare that would singlehandedly wipe out the titans if its fury was reversed engineered by the scientists from beyond the gate.

She couldn't say anything as Christa simply grabbed the thin girl by her shoulders and began to lead her away from the cadets.

"Uh… Christa?"

"Come on… maybe if you return it right away he won't decide to report it to the Commandant."

"W-wait! He doesn't know! He can't know! I-"

One look at the eyes of the blonde girl and Ymir knew there was no arguing.

"Such a do-gooder… ever think for yourself?" she mumbled.

"Would be easier if I didn't have to keep you out of trouble…"

…

The late afternoon sun shone on the Armored platoon now stationed in the somewhat stepped on motor pool. The Army tankers surrounded the five elite scouts, listening to the worrisome information.

Ryan nodded to himself as the short captain from the Survey Corps finished his report.

"So, if I understand correctly, that Ymir girl may just be in charge of all this?" a driver of one of the other tanks asked.

"I reiterate that we don't know for sure. But given that Eren Yeager transformed into a titan, and the Colossal Titan seemed to have planned the attack, we have reason to believe those with the blood abnormality are capable of transforming into intelligent titans. Add to those findings that suggest the nape of the titan has a collection of nerves that are similar to those found on a human body, we are suspicious enough to ask for your support."

"With all due respect, captain, these are just children…" Darnell began.

"We plan on only using you as a last resort." Levi stated, trying not to sound heartless as the lack of knowledge of how titans worked, even with modern science, made it so that a giant shape shifting into a teenager didn't seem too far off.

The emotionless stare of the Survey Corps captain was unlike anything any of the Americans had seen. There was a detachment that worried the younger soldiers, but some of the older veterans could see beyond it.

A mask to hide vulnerability.

_Or worse…_

Ryan crossed his arms as he considered what the tankers now knew.

_Get the Abrams ready in case the armored titan suddenly strikes, and odds are, he will._

He wondered if the girl that had been so curiously staring at his Zelda game a few days prior really was, secretly, in charge of all the mindless, humanoid monsters beyond the wall.

"There he is… go on." A voice said suddenly.

Every tanker turned and saw two cadets, one blonde, one dark haired.

Ryan blinked as Ymir sheepishly approached him and offered him back his Switch.

"Uh… thanks for… letting me borrow it?" she asked.

Ryan partly understood what the girl was asking for.

_Please don't rat me out._

He stared a t the clearly undamaged device on her hand.

Behind him, the Survey Corps scouts looked pale.

_Had they somehow been found out?_

Only one way to find out…

"So… you took it without permission?" Ryan asked.

Ymir sulked slightly before frowning and nodding.

Christa sighed.

Ryan smirked.

"Now, Missy, I'm from Missouri, we have a… sense of honor over there, and we all have it here, too! You don't take what ain't _yours_."

Ymir said nothing.

"Anyway, I suggest you head on out with the Survey Corps team back there, they'll take you somewhere to decide your fate."

"Whoa, wait a minute! Decide her _fate_?" Christa asked, suddenly distraught.

"Yeah, I just _borrowed_ it! The damned thing isn't even damaged!" Ymir protested.

Ryan handed it back to her and said "Flip it on then. I assume you at least know that much if you stole it to mess with it or sell it away."

Ymir blinked at the accusation, but took it and pressed the button she knew made the screen glow.

Nothing.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

Panicked, she tried a third time.

"Well, sorry, kid… I guess you'll have to answer for your crimes." Ryan breathed, hiding the batteries into one of his rear pockets.

Ymir scoffed before saying "Funny, you're not too upset about it… Keep your worthless gadgets… see you later, Christa."

Christa stood dumbfounded as Ymir walked up to the scouts.

"I… um… then… t-then you have to arrest me, too!"

Ryan stared at her confused, but Levi replied simply

"Bring her along then. Let's just clear this up quickly."

The four scouts escorted the small pair as Martinez walked up to Ryan, asking "Uh… what exactly did she do to it?"

"Nothing, I just took out the batteries… hopefully she cooperates."

Darnell sighed, saying "She didn't seem like an evil mastermind… hell, she looked kind of hurt when you accused her."

"Yeah, I don't think she knows much of anything… if anything, wouldn't she be more opposed to getting arrested by the scouts?" Martinez added.

"Look at her, she thinks she's just going to get reprimanded and released. I don't think she knows they know."

"Well, that's another one down… three to go?"

…

Annie observed the combined force of humans clearing the debris as the afternoon sun shone down on them. Several of the non-combatants that had run to safety were there as well, looking over the damaged houses, clearing large rocks… working to fix as much as they could.

The cadets were mostly just keeping watch, patrolling the top of the wall, or using their ODM gear to reach rooftops and look where the American drones couldn't see.

She overheard several of the German workers mumble to each other in a language she didn't understand, but they sounded frustrated.

"Ich verstehe nicht, es erscheint nur ...? Keine Warnung, keine Möglichkeit, die mehr als fünfzig Meter hohe Mauer des Muskelansatzes zu sehen?"

"Schau, ich verstehe es auch nicht, aber es ist genau das, was passiert ist."

" Wie sollen wir uns auf so etwas vorbereiten ?!"

" Genauso wie wir uns auf eine russische Invasion vorbereiten, schätze ich, mehr Gegenmaßnahmen."

" Ja, vielleicht können wir die verdammte Mauer mit ein paar alten Luftabwehrkanonen ausrüsten, wenn also eine andere auftaucht ... Everything alright, miss?"

_Crap!_

Annie nodded, calmly asking "Just checking if you need anything from the logistic teams."

The German looked at the broken building.

"Ja, some trucks to clear out the debris would work nicely, mark this street as a… how do some Americans classify this? Yellow Waffle House… I think. Just mark it for medium damage. That's the good thing about the titans; they don't leave any bodies to clear out later."

Annie nodded, wondering why one of the codes Americans used to measure the damage disasters caused was based around a restaurant, but questioned nothing.

She was in the process of walking away when she overheard the German mumble "Huh… she kinda looks like your daughter."

She immediately turned to look at the men.

He awkwardly returned a smile saying "I mean, she's a bit younger, but…"

The other German sighed and showed her a picture from his phone.

She didn't look at it, eyeing the older man.

"Vielleicht hätte ich das nicht laut sagen sollen ... sieht so aus, als hätte ich sie rausgekriecht."

"Err… he didn't mean to make it sound creepy. But you really look like her. Find it kind of interesting how-"

"I can't do this anymore." The girl mumbled under her breath before walking away, leaving the workers confused and a little worried.

It mattered little to her, really, who cared about some strangers from another world?

But the more she walked, the longer she felt a weight fall on her, slowly crush her on both a mental and physical level.

She stopped walking for a second to look up at the still blue sky.

A pair of American Harriers flew by, more than likely returning to the main base for a refueling.

She breathed.

She looked at a group of soldiers from the 104th, some chatting excitedly, having survived their first real combat experience, others just sitting down and resting, clearly exhausted after the fight.

"Fight" she mumbled aloud.

It had been more of a target practice exercise if anything.

There had been casualties, technically.

Eren had clearly been mortally wounded before whatever cruel god dictated the universe decided that he was the one to possess the powers of a titan. Mikasa had several fractures after exerting herself, fighting titans at such close ranges, she was lucky it was all she had experienced. She had heard that some American soldiers had gotten bruised either setting up the third line of defense or during the fight at some point, seemingly accidental, but casualties nonetheless.

Regardless, the titans had been effectively stomped out of the district turned military base.

Totally, mercilessly, just like the titans had done to them before.

She stopped walking.

Annie had found herself in front of the nurse's office, and after a moment of hesitation, she opened the door.

"Seriously, kid, take it easy out there." The voice of Nurse Joy was the first thing she noticed.

She saw Bertholdt nodding slowly as he took a small bottle of what she assumed was medicine of some sorts.

"Oh, Annie… you, uh… you feeling okay?" the nurse asked.

Annie was silent as she made eye contact with Bertholdt.

She never noticed how nervous the nurse looked.

"I was… um… just looking for… Reiner." Annie stated after a minute.

"Reiner… Brown?" the nurse asked.

"_Braun_… he's uh… helping with the cleanup… I just finished my job and I felt a bit sick, so…" the young man said, albeit tired.

Annie nodded slowly before glancing at the nurse.

Karina blinked before smiling politely and saying "Ah, sorry. Feel free to chat! I have to sign some papers, pardon the intrusion."

With that, she retreated to her office.

Annie wasn't fooled for a second, the prefab building had thin walls, and any conversation could be heard if it was quiet enough.

But then again, she didn't really care anymore.

"We have to tell them." She said simply, surprising herself.

Bertholdt physically winced, as if the words had actually slapped him in the face.

"But… but Reiner-"

"Look around you! There's no getting out of this anymore! It doesn't matter how sneaky we are or how much damage we manage to do, it is _over_!" she hissed.

"You think I don't know that? I want to surrender, I don't want these people to suffer anymore, but if we just give up and tell them- or don't… we lose either way!"

"We negotiate… for our lives and safe passage home, we trade some secrets, promise to cooperate, and then we head home. Easy when you think about it… but only if you help me!"

Bertholdt was silent.

"You have to think for yourself, Bertholdt. I won't tell if you won't."

Silence for a moment.

Then, with a defeated sigh, the dark haired teenager said "You're right…"

…

"Yeah, I borrowed the damned thing, but why are you taking me underground?"

Levi didn't reply as Eld led the girl down several steps to the dungeon beneath the barracks.

Christa on the other hand…

"G-guys, come on… isn't this a bit much? Why the dungeon?" she asked nervously.

The scouts were silent.

"You know, she wasn't even involved, she's just saying it to share some of the blame. Naïve girl like her can't even rob a cookie without feeling guilty about it…"

Christa said nothing as Petra replied "We'll figure it out later, just take it easy and cooperate." and led her elsewhere, away from the underground prison and away from Ymir.

There were about six relatively small cells lying at the bottom of the stairs, Shiganshina never really needing to arrest many people, and Ymir was moved into one.

She blinked; confused as inside was a table and several documents on paper that was clearly used by the Americans, not the Corps or the Garrison… although odds were both branches would adopt the cheaper paper pieces and ink.

"Sit down." The short captain ordered.

The blonde scout placed a device she hadn't really seen before on the table and pushed a button.

Levi said "We are going to be recording this interview and storing it as evidence. Could you state your full name?"

Ymir narrowed her eyes as she heard the iron door close.

Levi didn't say anything, continuing to stare at her without any emotion, as if she was little more than an insect he could crush whenever he felt like.

After a few moments Ymir said "I just go by Ymir…"

Levi nodded before glancing at Eld.

The blonde scout said "Interesting, why do they call you that?"

"Why do you care?" the girl growled back.

"Just interesting, I suppose. I never met anyone with that name before."

_I work with a girl named Mikasa and yet __**my **__name is weird?_

Ymir glared at the calm man before saying "Look, I stole the damn toy, okay? I admit it, I did it on my own, I wanted to show it off to the others, and Christa wasn't involved, that simple. Can we move on to the dishonorable discharge or public beating or whatever punishment I'll get for misbehaving?"

Silence from the captain and his subordinate.

"Hey, shorty, I don't care how cool you think you look, staying quiet only makes you look like an idiot."

"What district are you from?"

Ymir winced before saying "Stohess."

"Remember the street you grew up in?"

"No, I moved around a lot."

Silence for another irritating moment as the captain appeared to be studying her.

"…hear about Yeager?" he asked suddenly.

"I… yes? Guys were saying he can turn into a titan, but I don't really care."

"Why is that?"

"It isn't my business, genius."

Silence fell over them again.

Ymir looked around as nothing was said, not daring to touch the documents on the table and dig a deeper hole for herself, but something certainly didn't seem right.

She just couldn't do anything about it without effectively ruining herself.

Her eyes moved back to the table for a second.

"Hey, what are these papers here for?" she asked after a moment.

Levi hadn't taken his eyes off her, but with a simple hand movement, he flipped one of the folders open, a full page of written text lay next to a drawing of a large horned giant.

"According to papers from the other side of the gate, there is a legend talking about a being called Aurgelmir… better known as Ymir. A creator, the first being that existed."

The girl raised an eyebrow, before smiling and sarcastically saying "Why, captain, are you suggesting_ I_ am a god of some sort?"

Met again with the same, seemingly uncaring silence, the girl slammed a fist on the table, saying "Get to the point, _shorty_! I don't like beating around the bush and I take it neither do you, so if you have something to say then say it already!"

Levi ignored the small amount of spit that had landed on the table after that outburst, and simply responded by silently opening the second folder.

Ymir recoiled physically.

A wave of horror washed over the young girl, a subconscious reaction to a memory long buried away, never meant to be remembered. But to her petrified mind's horror, she was unable to shift her eyes away from the photograph on the table, only trembling as she stared at the captured titan, sitting alone in a cage, deep underground.

"Did you hear that we captured a titan some time ago? Not a very cooperating fellow, but… it has given us many answers." Eld whispered as Ymir covered her mouth to stifle any scream that might attempt to escape her.

Levi noticed the tears beginning to manifest on the now deathly pale girl.

"You recognize this titan." Levi stated.

Ymir didn't move, didn't blink, she simply stared at the photograph.

Now it was Levi who angrily slammed his fist on the table.

Ymir only reacted by looking at the captain.

"Who are you really?" Levi asked, revealing only for a second the silent fury he had been keeping deep down. Years of seeing his comrade's deaths had taken a toll on the soldier, and if the one responsible was not a cruel act of nature, and instead an intelligence that was actually sitting mere inches away… hell wouldn't describe what he could put her through.

Ymir slowly made eye contact.

She breathed in, bit her lower lip and said "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

The girl shook her head.

Lev forced his anger down yet again before continuing.

"Are you human?"

Silence.

"Where are you from?"

Silence.

"We could link you to the bastards that destroyed the wall and kill you in the next two minutes or you can talk and get a chance at life."

"…I have demands."

"State them." Levi replied courtly, not fazed by the girl seemingly regaining composure and too angry to beat around the bush.

"I want you to keep Christa safe, no matter what happens I want her to be safe."

Unfazed by the request, Levi simply said "If she's involved then all I can guarantee is that she won't be executed."

"She _isn't, _you jackass! She doesn't even know I can… that I'm one of them."

"One of who?"

"Whatever Yeager is… do you want my answers or not?"

"What do you know?"

"Do we have an understanding?!" the girl tried to demand yet again.

The uncaring silence from the captain made it crystal clear he had spoken honestly.

_I can guarantee she won't be executed._

Somewhat defeated, the girl sunk into her chair and took a deep breath.

"I don't know for certain how it started, but… one day a man walked up to me and put me in a lineup of other girls. Then… then this second man came and said that… that I looked promising_._"

"Where was this?" Levi asked.

"Not here, but that's all I know… looked like… like it was near a desert or a beach? It was a long time ago."

Levi went silent again so Ymir continued narrating her trip down memory lane.

"The man called me Ymir, he said… said I was special, that I was blessed with royal blood or something of the sort. Talked about immortality, people prayed to me, gave me warm food, a place to sleep. They treated me like a goddess and I let them knowing full well I wasn't one." she said sounding exhausted.

Levi noted how detached the girl appeared to be then, as she stared into the ceiling.

"I went along with it for a while of course. Lying to myself over and over, years on end, until…"

_She did it! She's the one who lead us astray! She said she had blood of the king and we all believed her!_

"Until some… men in uniform appeared, they… they arrested everyone… they said I had lied to them, that I had claimed to be of royal blood. And I lied again and said that I was."

Levi said nothing.

"I thought I could save them, I guess… it didn't matter. They rounded us up, tied us up like cattle and dragged us through the street… I remember many people threw things at us, mostly rocks…"

Levi said nothing.

"They put us on a ship, dragged us up this stairway that lead to the top of a wall and…"

_Stop, please stop!_

She remembered the deathly screams of those that had followed her as…

"The men had these syringes… injections that…" Ymir sucked in a breath and continued, now staring at the photograph.

_I'm begging you, please don't-_

She remembered the injection hurting as it silenced her physically and mentally.

"One at a time they injected them, she was the last one that I saw before I got injected too." She said, almost whispering as she pointed at the photograph, remembering the horrifying result of her going along with lies.

"What?"

"Huh… that got you interested, yeah?" Ymir managed; her voice cracking as she spoke.

Levi stared at the photo for a second before looking up.

"The people injected turned into… into titans?" Levi pointed at the photograph.

All the girl could do was nod.

Levi eyed the girl.

He saw no sign that she was lying.

"Who did this? Where was this?"

Ymir shrugged.

"How did you turn back from… being a titan?"

"I wish I knew… I kind of remember wondering outside the walls for a long time, maybe sixty years but… I honestly don't know. I know I ate someone that could do the same, turn from a human into a titan, so… that was probably it."

Levi stared at the girl, unsure of what to think of that.

"So this is true? You're from beyond the walls? There are people there?" Eld asked.

"Where do you think the colossal titan came from? They're people, too!"

"But who are they?" he asked, trying to see if she was still connected to those they suspected.

"I don't know, it isn't like I work with them!"

Silence.

"Of course… why would you believe me?"

Silence.

"Kill me if you want but… please… just keep Christa safe…"

"Hmm, but… why are you so interested in Christa?"

Ymir remembered overhearing some cultists talking about it one day.

_Yeah, we gave her a new name; put her in the military, so…_

_104__th__ is the new regiment this year, right?_

_Yes, she should be fine as long as nothing happens… it doesn't really matter what branch she joins in, but I think the MPs would be preferable. _

Ymir said "I guess she's like me in a way… she isn't here because she wants to be, I doubt she ever had much choice in the matter. Only difference is that my lies caught up with me, while she can… maybe survive."

As if someone had drained her of life, the girl sank back in her chair after saying that.

They were silent until Petra came in and said "Captain, we have a situation!"

…

Mikasa slowly walked down the street near the barracks, reminding herself to drink the pain medication the American doctor had given her.

"_Take two of these every day, one after breakfast, one after dinner. You're lucky your fractures are minor."_

Still she didn't push herself too far, unlike her adoptive brother who was practically running ahead as the task force walked toward the remains of their childhood home.

_I feel so distant from him._

She had wanted to say so much to him after she awoke, but even now was struggling with the words. The young girl, always focused on keeping her small family safe, had rarely bothered to consider her own feelings, trivializing them in order to focus on becoming stronger, desperate to never lose her family ever again.

The price was that she wasn't sure she could communicate exactly how she felt anymore.

"I hear you like to read, Armin." Hanji stated then, earning her attention despite not talking to her.

Armin had nodded simply, saying "My parents used to have books on the world beyond the walls… they talked about all the land that lies just beyond our reach. Our hope is to see it someday."

The scout smiled slightly as an American Ranger replied with "Hell, get some permission and come over to Montana, we have just about everything over there. Mountains, fields, rivers…"

"Shut your trap, Mike. We're here." The second Ranger replied.

Eren was silently staring at the remains of his old home.

Mikasa walked up to him and asked "Where would Doctor Yeager hide a secret like this?"

"Only one way to find out." He replied, determined to not leave until they found whatever secret the man who raised them had left them.

…

Karina hadn't gotten much battlefield experience in her time in the Army.

Oh, like any nurse, she had treated a few injuries here and there, given a few shots, taken some blood samples… hell, she had served alongside Marines earlier that very day!

Still, none of that could have prepared her for two of the cadets the US had been training (and that she had been observing) suddenly confess to her that they were mass murderers.

_No, not just mass murderers…_

"We brought the walls down." The blonde girl had said suddenly, showing zero emotion, her eyes reflecting a level of indifference only a seasoned killer could ever hope to give off.

The tall teen looked to be on the verge of tears.

Why they were confessing all this to her didn't make much sense until-

"You already suspected something thanks to our blood tests, correct?"

_Oh…_

Karina could only cross her arms and say "As long as we're being honest with each other… yes, we were trying to understand why you five had… this never before seen quality to your blood, something off in the chemical composition, a-a cellular… divergence that we have never seen on earth… our earth at least…"

The blonde turned to the tall teenager and said "Told you, this whole thing was doomed from the start."

"Yeah… damn shame…"

Karina noted that the teenagers definitely regretted their actions, but like everything in the real world, it was never so easy. A child will regret stealing cookies from a jar, but especially if they got caught, a sense of embarrassment or a fear of the consequences that followed doing something bad… Karina felt the pair standing in front of her weren't surrendering because it was the right thing to do, at least… not primarily.

They had still _done_ it, after all. Perhaps the nurse could appeal to that part of them?

"Annie, Bertholdt… I believe you know that we swear an oath to-"

"It is precisely _because _you swore an oath to respect your patients that we came to you. You're the only one who we can trust to safeguard our secret if you can't guarantee our demands."

Karina narrowed her eyes.

_Of course these aren't normal children I'm talking to… damn it all._

"We want you to tell the Colonel that Bertholdt and I will cooperate and answer whatever questions you have, but only if you can guarantee we will return home."

"…home?"

…

"… This guy had an entire journal on ways of combating viral infections? Grisha Yeager was pretty advanced for his age, kid." One of the Rangers mumbled as he checked the translation for one of the notebooks.

"Have you found anything yet?" Eren asked the girl beside him, not really caring much about his father's work as a doctor.

_Not if it doesn't benefit the war against the titans…_

The room was now lit by several battery powered lanterns, greatly benefiting the two Army Rangers going over the shelves of books while Hanji and Armin studied the desk.

Eren was looking over one of the smaller shelves, pulling at books, while Mikasa shone light into small crevices on the wall.

Mikasa calmly shook her head in response.

"Damn it, nothing!" Eren called, not in the mood to stop and mope when they were seemingly so close to the truth.

_Why did you have to hide this secret, father? What was so important?!_

Mikasa glanced at Armin who was moving to the left side of the desk, analyzing the wood.

"You guys noticed this desk has some extra room that seems to just exist?" the blonde boy called.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Somewhat nervously, Armin pointed at what appeared to be a drawer.

"Looks like an ornamental piece, but… if you look under it, you can tell that there's definitely some room here… as if…"

He knocked below the desk.

Hollow.

"Interesting… there's no keyhole in it, though." Hanji noted.

"Eren!"

The boy glanced at Mikasa who was now staring at the bottom left corner of the wooden desk.

Tiny, to the point of almost being invisible, but still there, was a keyhole.

"Mikasa… good eye!" the teen said, somewhat excited as he quickly grabbed his father's key from his pocket, jamming it in place.

It fit.

He twisted it left.

Nothing.

He slowly twisted to the right…

_*click*_

Armin glanced at what he thought was just a decorative drawer.

It had been pushed forward ever so slightly.

The blonde put his hands on it, but didn't pull.

"What are you waiting for, Armin?"

"Maybe it should be you two?"

Eren rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Armin, we don't have time for that! We just got out of a major attack, and the secrets of the world could well be right within that drawer!"

The teenager actually took his hands off the wooden piece and stepped aside.

Eren however, didn't walk over.

Was this really it? Could the secrets of the world really, truly be within that drawer? He had thought about it, sure, and he had hoped his father had some amazing secret , but for the first time, the young man found himself somewhat nervous of the truth.

"God, you kids…" one of the Rangers walked over and pulled the drawer open.

"Uh… it's empty."

"_**WHAT?!**_"

Eren ran over and looked into the drawer.

True to the statement, there was nothing there.

Eren touched the empty space, confused.

Then he said "Wait… wait, what is…?"

His hand had pressed down on the wood, and it had shifted, as if it wasn't nailed in place.

He pressed it slightly more and the bottom was revealed to be false, he could remove it to reveal a hidden chamber within the drawer.

Throughout its history, mankind has kept records of itself on stone, wood, clay, paper, and eventually digital records, but books were some of the first means of people to spread ideas.

Scientific discoveries, moral enlightenments, reformations, national ideals, the Bible, just about every single one of the fundamentals of the modern age had been spread through written works.

Why else would regimes devoted to fully controlling their populations ban them?

Why else did people burn books when they didn't want dissidence amongst each other?

Why else had the king made it illegal for any books pertaining information of the lands beyond the walls to be burned or destroyed?

If ideas were bullets, books were the guns that fired them, even in the modern age, and any tyrant worth his weight in pounds knew it.

So it was fitting that before the small group of humans, hidden in the bottom of a basement, lay three of these dangerous weapons, neatly tucked into the hidden space, protected by cotton and string.

Eren picked one up, wonder lighting his eyes as he opened it, everyone gathering around him to look at what could be the biggest discover this side of the gate.

Then everyone did a double take.

For Eren and Mikasa, this simply wasn't possible. Grisha could never have access to that technology.

For Armin and Hanji, this only raised further questions. This world has cameras that can produce photographs?

For the two Army rangers in the room, it only meant one thing: things just got more complicated for us soldiers.

…

"Marley?" Colonel Parker asked, his face barely lit by the torches in the dungeon.

"Yes, it exists beyond the walls and the ocean." Annie said, giving an uncaring glance at Ymir who was being escorted out by two members of team Levi.

The dark haired girl looked at her with little emotion, but she could see some level of disbelief in her eyes, as if she was saying "I knew you were crazy; never thought you were mentally ill".

"There's a place you can drop us off or meet up with Marlean troops, if they're there… you can drop us-"

"Only _if_ you give us more information and only _if_ you help us get Reiner down here." the colonel replied coldly.

Annie nodded slowly.

Bertholdt said "I could lure him down here… tell him we found out Ymir is the other titan shifter… or something along those lines."

"Yeah, no… Ymir has only admitted to devouring one person this whole time and swore to work with us, you guys are just political prisoners."

_Granted, Ymir is only working with us as long as we keep Christa safe… wonder what the deal with those two is…_

Annie then said "Drug him. Give him plenty of alcohol or just knock him out with some of the sleep medicine you guys use. He can't transform in his sleep."

"I'll consider it. We are trusting you and not zip tying you to a stake on the top of the wall because you have been relatively cooperative, but do _not _step out of line, and don't give us a reason to literally unleash hell." the colonel said.

Annie didn't like how the man emphasized the word "literally" and the way he talked made it seem like he wasn't that afraid of them.

_Haven't even told them what I can do…_

Bertholdt clearly had a similar thought as he said "This was never meant to happen."

_A subtle plea for mercy…"we didn't mean to kill a quarter of the local population, honest!" what a joke._

Parker didn't bother to look at them as he left.

Nurse Joy sat at the top of the stairs, waiting.

"Well, it was easier than I would have expected."

"Annie just wants to see her father again, and something tells me they really never wanted to be here in the first place. Did they say anything about Marley?"

"Not much, I gotta take this further up to confirm if we are going to give them any deals. Given their age, though, I say they have a decent chance of not getting hanged."

_Not that they haven't earned it._

…

The sun was beginning to set by the time Kenny Ackerman found the city street he was looking for.

The paper Captain Levi had left for him was an address with the simple words "find us here".

_Obviously, it had to be near the slums of the capital…_

No one was around and it was getting dark.

He walked towards a particular house when a pair of footsteps got his attention.

"Kenny Ackerman I presume?"

_A woman…_

He turned to see a young woman accompanied by two men in cloaks.

He could see the barrel on their rifles, and he immediately recognized the weaponry from the other side of the gate.

He grinned.

"Apologies, given the ongoing situation in Wall Maria, I found myself delayed. I take it you're all Americans?"

The woman said nothing, studying him.

"You can relax, I wasn't followed… and I only cut ugly throats, with maybe a few exceptions. Your pretty little neck should be fine."

The woman chuckled and said "Ah, you're one of them, huh?"

"Pardon?"

"A criminal for hire, let me guess, a serial killer?"

"Did Levi tell you all that?"

"Actually, I had to work with guys like you in Mexico- um… another country… you don't know what Mexico is."

"Oh, don't take me for someone who simply kills for pay. I use to buy what the true king was selling."

"Head on in, let's talk about that."

The inside of the home was relatively bare, little more than a table and a few wooden chairs.

"Yeah, sorry about that. we're a bit limited in our furniture- keeping a low profile and all that."

The older man nodded as he sat down.

Then the woman sat down, her entourage remaining at arm's length, standing up in case they were needed.

"So… the king?"

"Oh, not so fast, missy. _First_ we have to work out a sort of deal, don't we?"

The American woman smiled politely before asking "What do you have in mind?"

"A pardon for past crimes, I suppose. I still want to live my life after all… I guess the same goes for whoever I recruit in helping you guys out."

"I see… you give us intel and help us out, we don't execute you when we inevitably have to take down the King… Well, not exactly up to me, but it's not like we _know_ what you did before we showed up."

Kenny knew she was lying about that last part, but played along.

"Right then… what do you want to know?"

"Really, we only have a couple of questions… for starters, who is the king's heir?"

Kenny winced, before laughing loudly.

"You're that far ahead already?"

"We have eyes and ears in places you wouldn't believe. honestly, we could have found out on our own but… this is easier. Now, how about you tell us who she is?"

Kenny crossed his arms and said "I don't handle her living arrangements, the church does… but I know her name is Historia Reiss, and she is currently living with the 104th your soldiers are training. Goes by the name Christa now if I'm not mistaken." the man said.

The agent nodded slowly, then asking "What is the king planning?"

Kenny scoffed, saying "You got me there, nobody understands him. He was planning on expanding my anti-personnel unit, and he has, but it's not like he gave us a war plan or anything like that."

"Ooh, anti-personnel unit… what's that about?"

"A contingency plan should the local population decide to rise up. It just regular ODM gear, but with _**Hand Cannons!**_" the man shouted, making fingerguns.

The CIA agent blinked before asking "Hand cannons?"

"Well, it's not much compared to… whatever _that_ is…" he mumbled pointing at the man in a cloak.

"C8 carbine." the SAS officer replied without a hint of care.

Kenny stared for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Alright… how many anti-personnel forces are there right now?"

Kenny thought for a moment.

"A little over a thousand… more or less." He said, waving it away.

He then proceeded to laugh loudly as the CIA agent visibly paled.

"But you can easily cut that in half. My squad was divvied up when his royal fat ass decided to expand and train more forces… there are four commanders within their ranks. Djel Sannes is probably the one you've seen the most of… loyal bastard he is, but other than commanding some torture sessions, he has no combat experience. He has more men under his belt, rookies but… I'll give it to them, well trained. You may want to be on the lookout for any MPs you see no longer taking advantage of their position."

"Noted, but what about you? how many are under your command?"

Kenny grinned.

"Despite my squad being divvied up… I still control those who train the new recruits. Oh, they may have their own smaller squads now, they may even appear subservient to his royal pain, but when push comes to shove… they follow me."

"Really now?"

"You better believe it, miss."

"Now… this is all well and good, but… how long have you been planning on overthrowing this king?"

The slightest hint of sadness briefly appeared in the eyes of the serial killer, but the man looked away for a second.

"Rod Reiss is not the true king."

_Oh what the hell?_

"I mean… he _is_, but… it was his daughter who truly used to rule over us… then she was simply… murdered. Still not certain how it happened and Rod never gave many details other than _I barely escaped with my fat life!_ Dumb bastard… that said, before her, his brother Urie Reiss ruled, and he… he was something… and I may not fully understand all the implications or scientific mumbo jumbo that goes into that process, but… the royal family can pass on their memories after death to whoever controls this… Founder."

The fact the killer had said it in a hush tone caused the CIA agent to feel a wave of coldness go up her spine.

She had seen plenty of evil in her time, heard worse from colleagues, yet… there was something blatantly _wrong _about the way the man before her had described the Royal Family.

As if, creation itself cringed away from whatever horrors were occurring on this side of the gate.

Humanity had always done purely disgusting things, but the way Kenny Ackerman described it, even if he himself didn't seem to care much for it, made the CIA agent feel a level of dread she was unsure would go away until she got to the bottom of it.

"How so?"

…

"They want to _eat _them?!" Jake half shouted as Dave slapped the back of his head in frustration.

Levi could only sit back on the chair as Hanji continued reading the journals, desperately absorbing the information as quickly as she humanly could.

"From what little I read… it seems so. Grisha Yeager describes cameras, cars, airships, all in meticulous detail which to me suggests he is telling the truth… as well as the truth behind titanization and how to pass it on."

The barrack's library was essentially empty, only the American escort of the Levi squad and the officers of the Shiganshina district were there to witness the discovery.

Eren sat in a corner, Mikasa holding his hands and refusing to let go, though he didn't seem to notice or care.

"It goes in line with what Ymir said, doesn't it?" Petra asked.

Levi could only nod.

"Yeah, and it confirms what Annie says about coming from some other country… and that means…"

"Yeah, this gives us a dilemma because it not only means they are telling the truth about Reiner, but that the rest of the world wants us dead." Hanji replied solemnly, closing the second journal.

Matt stared out the window as the cadets were out in the fields, enjoying a celebration of a successful holding of Wall Maria.

_Just kids…_

"I can probably grab Reiner in my… titan form, keep him from transforming…" Yeager said, breaking the slience.

"Eren-" Mikasa began before Levi cut her off.

"Kid, do you even know how to control that thing? And even if you did, how exactl y do you plan on sneaking a fifteen meter tall walking tank behind someone who has been making you all think he was your friend while in reality he was out to not only kill all of you, but devour you if he got the chance?" Levi asked.

The teenager promptly went silent.

_Stupid, Eren! Stupid!_

Here he was, in front of mankind's strongest soldier… and he put forward the dumbest suggestion imaginable.

"We could kill him." Matt suggested, albeit quietly.

Silence.

"Just saying… don't see any other real option with him."

It was Commandant Shadis that objected.

"Assume he has the same durability Yeager has. A round designed to kill titans didn't finish the job, and Eren was not aware of his abilities. Reiner on the other hand, is. How would you take him out without causing more damage to the district?"

Matt shrugged.

"I guess we could drug him, knock him out and drag him underground. Even if he transformed underground, he would be stuck, unable to move, same as our other cooperating prisoners." Colonel Parker stated.

"You want to keep him alive." Levi said.

"This… Marley… it must hold them in some high regard. From the descriptions in the book, they are woefully behind us technology wise, but still… even in the 1890s prisoner exchanges were a thing, especially for political prisoners."

"Colonel, all due respect, he tried to destroy the wall twice! He… he got so many people killed, it- it _can't_ be allowed to go unpunished!" the teenager protested.

Images of his mother disappearing into the toothy grin of one of _them _flooded his mind.

"He'll be punished for it, trust me. We still have to capture him."

"I may have a solution."

The group turned to look at Armin Arlert, now with a serious looking Christa Lenz standing next to him.

"Arlert?" the commandant asked.

"Reiner was constantly looking at Christa, right?" Armin asked.

Nobody said anything as Christa's face turned a reddish pink.

"For the sake of this suggestion, let's assume he was." Hanji mumbled.

"Well… Colonel, your nurse has some drugs that can put a person to sleep relatively quickly, right?"

The colonel nodded.

"And some of those medicines can be put inside a drink, right?"

"You want to spike Reiner's drink?"

"Essentially, sir." the teenager replied, smiling slightly.

Nobody spoke.

"…well, if it works… where does Christa come into play?" Levi sighed, resigned.

"Oh, she gives the drink to him so that he doesn't suspect anything."

"…Christa?"

The girl sucked in a breath before speaking up.

"Look, if he was already worried the higher ups knew about his identity then he will clearly be suspicious of anyone not a fellow cadet offering him anything, especially with him not talking to… to Bertholdt for a couple of hours…"

_I still can't believe he is responsible for-_

"I see… we can't just have Bertholdt go out and give him the drugs, so we just hit him with someone he likes."

"Exactly." Armin replied.

"Still, are you up for this? He could suspect somehitng."

She simply said "I want to help my friends, and if capturing him helps her remember who she used to be or anything at all, then… then I'll do what I have to."

"Will it work?" Levi asked.

"Annie said it would… hell, she suggested it would be the best way to catch him without screwing things up for everyone."

Silence fell on them again.

"Tell Kane to get some of the Marines ready with the thermobaric rockets they used, if you have any left, and keep the tankers on standby… the rest of you will watch from a distance and be ready to pick him up. He's the last one, and I expect him to be suspicious already."

Everyone nodded and left the room.

Hanji passed a page and mumbled "You guys go ahead, ill be in here… guys?"

She sighed when she noted that everyone had gone without her, so she pushed her desire to keep reading aside and moved to help capture the enemy.

…

"Kanpai!"

"Yeah to whatever that means!" Connie called as he tried to mimic the Japanese engineers, gleefully celebrating surviving a major battle in their table at the mess hall, a strange bottle on the table.

"I wonder if theirs tastes better." Mina mumbled as she stared at her fizzling cup of what the Americans called "non-alcoholic" beer.

Mina wasn't sure if it was expected that Sasha would be the one complaining about it, though.

"It does nothing for disinfecting the insides! Just tickles your tongue and leaves you wanting more!"

"Good grief, can you avoid saying things like that out loud?"

"If this is supposed to be a party after a successful mission, I say it's incredibly rude of htem not to bring actual alcohol! The Orientals over there get to have some, yet we can't?! They didn't even fight!"

"Shikashi, soreha watashitachi ga anata no tame ni hoka no subete o shūsei suru mono kamo shiremasen." One of the Japanese engineers said just loud enough for her to hear.

"I can't understand any of that!"

The man only chuckled in response.

"Rude bunch, the lot of them…" she mumbled, sipping her nonalcoholic drink.

"At least the food is good, I didn't know you could make a fish taste so good!"

"You _like_ that uncooked cadaver?"

"I-"

"Hey, have you guys seen Bertholdt?"

All eyes on the table turned to Reiner who seemed like he was lost.

"I think he went to the nurse earlier, he looked kind of exhausted." Connie replied.

The young man nodded then.

"Figures, he was pretty exhausted after today… how are you guys doing?" he asked then, sitting down.

"Discussing how Mina enjoys raw fish."

"It tastes fine!"

"It tastes _different. _You want fine, stick to the regular menu, if you want good, check out the cooked meats they have."

The dark haired girl let out an exasperated sigh.

"Let the girl enjoy her food, Sasha… different isn't necessarily bad, you know. like say… what do you guys think of Eren being a titan?"

The table went silent as the cadets considered the knowledge.

"Are you all actually surprised? The guy was strange from the very beginning, only talked about killing titans… let's be honest, if anyone was a titan, it would be him." a somewhat bemused Jean said from his table, a few feet away.

Reiner laughed wholeheartedly, stopping when no one else laughed and saying "Not funny, Jean."

"Right… anyway, I don't know, it's so bizarre. How can Eren go from being about our height to… well, the size of a house and still be alive? Aren't there some natural rules or something that violates?" Mina asked.

"Honestly, I couldn't care less. It's not like he attacked any of us. Hell, he even helped the team that went to pick him up." Sasha added.

"Which raises the question of who shot him." Connie said.

All eyes turned to Jean.

"Oh, as _if!_ I may hate the guy, but I would never just shoot him." the young man protested.

"I guess the Americans would have to look at ammo expenditure, maybe check fired shots and recorded titan kills, compare it with the amount of bullets anyone has missing… maybe you could find it out like that?" Reiner suggested.

"Yeah, but if I remember correctly, everyone participated in the Alamo defense, so anyone could just say that they used the missing bullet. Whoever took the shot must have known as much." Connie said.

"It's an unsolvable mystery that we'll just have to live with, like who put the stars in the sky and why Mina likes raw fish… anyway, I'll arm wrestle anyone for their steak!" Sasha said excitedly.

"Ah, have mine. I need to check on Bertholdt." Reiner mumbled.

"Ooh, what pose do you think he's doing if he's asleep?" Connie asked.

"My money's on him sleeping on his head." Jean said.

"You guys make your bets, I'll be back in a few to let you all know." Reiner said beginning to leave.

"Oh, Reiner! Glad I caught you!"

He turned to look at the adorable blonde haired girl.

She seemed exhausted, but she was handing him a cup of… wine?

"It isn't much, the kitchen didn't let me use a lot, but… I… I made this for you."

Reiner felt his heart skip a beat as he nodded, almost unquestioningly taking the glass and gulping it down.

Tasted sweet.

"Thanks, Christa… you really know how to get a guy's spirits back up!"

The girl simply smiled a little.

Reiner walked away from the celebration, heading back to the barracks.

Connie blinked, and wondered why Ymir hadn't showed up given her track record.

He got distracted by the Japanese singing something in their possibly drunken stupor, and didn't dwell on it.

…

Ilse watched through binoculars as the blonde titan shifter walked down the mostly lonely barracks, making his way to the nurse's office.

"Honestly, I would never suspect it. He's just so… calm."

Jake mumbled "Those are the most dangerous, the ones that can kill you and then pretend to grieve with the rest of your family."

Ilse frowned, but spoke into the radio "Target just passed us… still seems lucid."

"Copy, stay put." Levi replied.

"You think those books are true? There are people beyond the walls, prospering and advancing more than us?"

Jake shrugged.

"…you think they can be negotiated with?"

The American frowned.

The two remained silent, but then Jake said "People do a lot of crazy things because of belief… maybe they would be just fine with us and negotiate, but… if I had to be honest, I'll admit I'm not very optimistic on the situation."

Ilse then asked "But… the US will probably still support us, right?"

Jake glanced at the young girl.

He remembered one of his great uncles, a Vietnam War vet, angrily shouting at the television as a certain president was sworn into office when he was still in middle school.

_People like you are why Vietnam was lost!_

_Grandpa?_

He remembered the rant vividly as the old man was still furious over the conclusion of the war.

American losses had been a little more than 60,000 compared to the North losing a million men!

Adding to it the casualties from ARVN, South Korea, and Australia put the total K/D ration at around 3 to 1, with many arguing it was actually higher given the excessive use of napalm and the unorthodox means with which the communists fought their war, so an exact number could never be estimated.

_Those Vietnamese aren't even really communists anymore! They abandoned every major communist policy in exchange for open trade with the West! Oh, but to people like Mister Change over there, they defeated our military… stupid bastard…_

Jake had read about the war in Vietnam, and while US forces had never really lost an engagement throughout, the sheer amount of wounded boys, lack of progress, and the sense of pointlessness in the conflict changed the views of many young Americans at the time.

Add to that the Tet offensive actually managing to capture a few key cities, and the public had enough. They no longer cared for the war, and despite every city being recaptured within days of the attack, the public's mind was made up: not one more pointless death.

Politicians had pushed for the war to end, and while a certain president had managed to reach a a peace settlement with the North, history showed that it wasn't meant to last.

_Those damned hippies in congress never honored their part of the deal! Cowards! The lot of them, cowards! We abandoned an ally and nobody talks about it!_

"Jake?"

The soldier returned to the present and eyed the younger girl.

"Nah, don't you worry about it. We're allies after all. We help you, you help us… symbiotic relationship."

Ilse noticed the man seemed uncertain, and considered pressing him on why.

"Reiner is down, Rangers are moving in." the radio crackled.

_It would have to wait then…_

…

Reiner groggily opened his eyes to look at the stone ceiling above him.

_Where am i? What happened?_

"Huh… you slept like a baby." A bored voice said.

"You would think someone who murdered so many would have some trouble sleeping, but look at you, clean conscious no matter what, huh?"

He turned to look at the two Scouts.

He sat upright once he realized he was in a prison cell.

"I-I can't remember what happened last night- what did I-?"

The woman with what he first thought were glasses walked right to the cell and stared at him with a maddened glint coming from her eyes.

"So… do we beat around the bush, or do we just call you the Armored Titan?" she asked.

Reiner felt the color drain from his face.

_The scouts knew?! With certainty? Had Eren turning into a titan given them the proof they needed?_

Angrily, he lunged at the cell bars, powerful arms outreached in an attempt at grabbing the woman's throat.

She pulled away in the nick of time.

"Whaa! You are _**exactly**_like Tiny! Levi! Remember when we tried to feed him some regular meat and he snapped at me? The resemblance is so-" the excited woman was cut off by Reiner screaming suddenly.

"If you know what's good for you then release me!"

Levi huffed before getting up and leaving, making a point of showing the keys to the cell as he walked away.

Reiner then glared at the woman.

"You don't know what power I hold… you have no way keeping me here you damned devil!"

The woman simply stared at him with an almost inquisitive look.

"Does the name Sonny sound nice?" she asked.

Reiner winced.

"I mean, its the name of a cannibal, but I figured someone like you would like it. you look like a Sonny, not so much a Bean… but what do I know? never had a subject that could speak back to me, after all. So! Bean? Sonny? Beeeeeaaaaannnn?"

"Lady, don't think you hold any upper hand! I am a Warrior of Marley, and I will not stand-"

"Progress! You called me _lady_ instead of _devil_! Oh, we are going to be _such_ good friends!"

Reiner wanted to destroy the iron bars in front of him.

He obviously could do it, in theory, but he had no idea how deep underground he was, and transforming into a titan would likely trigger a collapse, killing him. not even armor could save him from oxygen deprivation.

However, he considered it a plus if it meant not having to stand there and listen to the maddened woman ramble about titans.

"Okay, that's enough." A voice he somewhat recognized walked down hall, stopping Hanji from continuing her rambles.

Reiner tried to see who it was, but had to wait for the man to walk in front of the cell.

_Colonel Parker!_

"Son, I do hope you understand the hole you just dug for yourself."

Reiner shook his head, angrily demanding "How… how did you know?!"

"Doesn't matter. You have two choices now, cooperate and we'll see what we can do for you, or don't cooperate and be used to test how far a giant can go against a force with total air supremacy."

Reiner was stunned.

The Colonel actually stepped closer to the cell.

"We're focusing on you, right now, we know about Marley, we know about Eldia, we know about the God damn race war you have against each other, but until we can establish contact with whoever lives beyond the wall, we have to focus on you and your friends."

_Friends? No… had he-?_

"So, Reiner, if that is your real name… surrender or… death? What exactly does the proud warrior do?"

Silence, but the look of defeat washed over the young man like a wave.

"I don't know what they put you through, but it doesn't matter anymore. No matter your choice you will spend the rest of your life inside a cell like this, but if you want a chance at salvaging anything out of your mission, then I suggest you side with the victor… or keep that honor of yours and serve a nation that will kill you for being born in the wrong family."

The cold look the older man gave him was the final push Reiner needed before appearing to shut down completely, sound and sight disappearing as he simply collapsed onto the wooden bed he had been sitting on.

The Colonel left then, Hanji whispering "Sleep tight, test subject number two!"

Reiner heard them walking away, but was rudely awoken by a familiar voice.

He sat up and saw the darkened glare of Eren Yeager.

A part of him thought he could try and manipulate the teenager, get him to help him out, as Eren was on the opposite side of the cell, but the look of rage in the teenager's eyes shot that idea down immediately.

There was silence.

And silence…

And silence…

And then-

"I thought killing you would be the better alternative… wanted to convince them that killing you, as an example, in front of every citizen of the walls as you looked at the families you destroyed would be the only way to end your miserable life…" the teenager said in a quiet but furious voice.

Then, his eyes widened and he seemed to smile slightly as he said "Oh, but this is much better…"

"Eren-"

"Don't talk to me, you've done enough of that… just… sit. Quietly. As we destroy everything and everyone you held dear, like you did to Armin and Mikasa and my father and my mother and everyone before me!"

The teenager leaned in and whispered with profound hatred dripping from every word "You tried to steal our freedom… now you get to watch as we steal yours..."

Silence fell again as Eren stared, unblinking, at Reiner.

Reiner had nothing to say. What _**could **_he say?_ "Sorry for killing your mom, come over to my house, my mom makes excellent biscuits!"_

Without saying another word, Eren left.

He walked up the steps, exiting the dungeon, not even going to bother with giving Annie or Bertholdt the same speech, knowing full well the pair had likely heard him.

The first rays of sunshine hit him before he made it to the top of the stairs.

Mikasa waited for him there, looking emotionally crushed as she didn't make eye contact.

Armin wasn't making eye contact either, but he managed to say "So… did he tell you anything about the curse?"

Eren scoffed, saying "Doesn't matter… eight years is plenty of time to strike back. Our situation hasn't changed much."

"It isn't true…" Mikasa said.

Eren gave the girl a pitiful look, noticing the how stiff and vulnerable she looked.

He had no words that could comfort her, the journal his father left them made it clear: 13 years after becoming a titan shifter, he would die. Assuming his father had done it five years prior, it left him a little less than eight years to live.

That simple.

Armin was more optimistic.

"Mikasa, we have better technology on hand now! Maybe… maybe we can find a way to cure it, or get rid of it."

"Y-yeah! who knows? Maybe there's still something we can do about it!"

"Hope is nice, but let's be honest, Yeager, this world is cruel and merciless."

The trio turned to look at a bored Ymir.

"Y-you can't know for sure there's nothing we can do!" Armin fired back.

The girl simply gave a resigned shrug.

Eren shook his head, saying "Regardless, we can't let this affect us too much! There's still work to do and… and it's our duty to get it done! Anyone who lags behind has only themselves to blame!"

No one spoke.

"Hey, kids… if you're set to go, we'll be waiting by the entrance." One of the Americans said, walking into the room.

They didn't speak, but Eren nodded and walked outside.

Out on the hall, several backpacks provided by the Marines lay on the floor, initials sown on the backs to identified who they belonged to.

Armin picked up his, but Eren stopped Mikasa before she could grab her own.

He had noticed the girl winced as she moved to grab her pack.

"Mikasa, did you drink your medicine?"

She didn't say anything.

The boy didn't change his expression as he picked the heavy pack for her, throwing it on his back.

"If you're just going to give up then feel free to stay here. I need you to be ready to fight, not to give up." He half whispered, half growled.

The girl only nodded slowly.

"Kid, take it easy on her. She just got the news you're terminal." the American sighed.

"Having her give up now would only make it worse for us."

"Maybe, but… take it easy, you two." the Marine said, continuing down the hall.

_People grieve in different ways…_

Almost outside, the trio saw as Ymir stood dumbfounded, seeing Christa sitting between Captain Levi and Hanji Zoe, waiting for them at the exit.

"Christa! What are-?"

"We'll tell you at the main base." Levi stated in a matter that made it clear no one would be speaking on the way to Hill Zero One.

Ymir glared at the short man, but then glanced at the girl.

"It's alright…" the blonde breathed.

Ymir considered threatening the short captain, but refrained in the end.

Outside, a squadron of UH-60 Blackhawks remained on the ground, rotors moving as the cadets looked on.

Matt kept his M4 slung on his back, safety on.

His job was to keep the cadets at bay, which they weren't a protesting mob, they knew hwo to follow orders, but better safe than sorry.

"Do you at least know why they did it?" Mina tried asking him a question for what he figured was the tenth time.

Just like all the others, he didn't answer.

"Forget him, Mina… odds are its classified info…" Samuel sighed.

Matt eyed the young man, then said "Did you know there's a famous actor back home that's got the same exact name as you?"

"Yeah, the Rangers mentioned it one time. They said we would watch one of his movies… something about snakes?"

Matt grinned ever so slightly.

He would like to warn the cadet of the film he might get to watch soon, but new experiences are important, right?

"Matt, the old girl is all set; are the VIPs in the Hawks yet?"

Matt glanced behind him, seeing Kane lead the cadets out of the dungeon and into the UH-60.

"Yup, five for five." he replied.

"Alright, we'll standby with the rest of team Levi until the birds take off. We'll meet up with Commander Erwin at Hill Zero One."

"Copy."

Matt watched as the cadets waved at the four comrades heading to Hill Zero One.

There was an air of melancholy, but also excitement.

This was progress, after all.

Though the American had to wonder what the odds were of having so many important pieces in the game of chess that was this world in one regiment.

It made some sense, as most of the cadets and shifters had joined around the same age, which put them in the same regiment, but still.

_We had three titans sleeping in the same room… what are the odds of that happening?_

Matt felt a chill go down his spine as a dark possibility hit him.

_Did someone plan this?_

Right now, it didn't seem so far-fetched.

Nothing did.

He watched as the cadets got into one of the UH-60s and moved away as the powerful engine began to lift the bird into the sky.

…

The sun shone brightly through the glass windows, something Pixis always appreciated of the royal hall. It was just nice to look at.

It, unfortunately, wasn't enough to ease the palpable tension between the American representative and the now revealed to be true king of the walls.

"To clarify, you want us to just… surrender all the titan shifters to your court for immediate sentencing?" Kelly asked.

"Correct. We cannot trust them to be telling the truth." Rod replied.

"Of course not, we believe one should trust but verify, after all. So far, the evidence seems to favor them."

"They have a right to defend themselves in court."

The US representative was silent for a moment.

"Your majesty, I appreciate you trusting us enough to come forward, and on behalf of the United States of America, we thank you for cooperating with us."

Rod smiled politely.

"However, we still have many questions about the genocides committed by your predecessors; we have countries on our side of the gate that want answers, and many within our own nation are concerned of rising hostility from within the capital."

The smile vanished.

"What do you mean?"

"We haven't received any substantial evidence that the aid we sent to the underground city even made it, your promise to begin modernizing hasn't occurred at all, and we have heard rumors you have forces on alert in case we need to be dealt with. Your majesty, if we are overstepping some boundaries, please let us know so that we can avoid needless bloodshed."

Rod remained silent for a moment, studying the woman.

The he laughed slightly.

"Wouldn't you keep some forces on standby if a superior force marched into your nation? We want to preserve our way of life, miss, we do not want any bloodshed. I will ask my advisory to get you what information we have. However, we need to try these traitors immediately."

Kelly was about to say something, but Rod cut her off.

"I know, it may seem harsh, but it is necessary. We executed those human traffickers you people captured immediately as soon as they confessed because we need order if we want to keep from going extinct."

Pixis felt the left corner of his eye twitch at the blatant lie.

"Now, at the trial we can hear if my predecessors lied to me, to everyone, but until then I need to show my people that we rule with justice, swift and true."

"Okay, that's enough." Kelly sighed.

Rod stared at her, confused.

"We are fully aware you arrested people for even talking about the world beyond the walls, you executed them for trying to explore, you made it illegal to even have books on the matter, and anyone talking about it was silenced."

The advisory looked on, shocked at how disrespectful this woman was when talking to their king.

"Do you have evidence of this?"

"It is literally in your law books. Maybe this isn't all that enforced, but let's face it, the people that would break these laws aren't around anymore."

Rod sighed, and said "Regardless… you asked me earlier if you were crossing any boundaries, yes?"

Kelly didn't reply.

"There is a degree of respect you must show the king, miss. I understand, there isn't a lot of information, it's frustrating, but… can we agree that neither of us wants bloodshed?"

Kelly nodded.

"Good, that's good… what can we do about getting a trial on the traitors?"

Kelly said "I will talk to my superiors and get back to you when I have an answer."

Rod smiled and said "That's all I ask. You are dismissed."

Kelly nodded, and Pixis escorted her out.

Rod maintained a pleasant expression until the American and Garrison commander closed the door after them.

His eyes narrowed then.

"Your majesty, can it be true? Humanity still thrives beyond the walls?"

Rod simply said "They are lying… this is all the proof we need. The idea that mankind still exists beyond the walls is ludicrous. We know the truth, do we not."

"Your Majesty, I must object."

All eyes turned to Deltoffe.

The older man sighed and stated "Remember, you are no longer in possession of the Founder. How can we know for certain she is lying?"

"Deltoffe, you met the previous Founders! How can you doubt their words?!" the king demanded, actually sounding angry.

"I never once doubted them, but now that I doubt, I am unable to ask them anything!"

Rod narrowed his eyes and said "Which is why we need to recover these traitors immediately. One of them has the Founder within them, remember? Once we get them back… you can ask to your heart's content."

Deltoffe nodded slowly.

Rod simply stared at him then, any outsider could tell the true king was thinking of whether he should do something drastic or not.

"Deltoffe, you are a dear friend. Have faith." Rod said, placing his hand on the older man's, gripping it tightly, encouraging him.

Deltoffe never felt nor saw the brief electrical discharge. He simply forgot everything that had happened in the meeting, all the information of the land beyond the walls, the fact humanity had not been destroyed.

He simply nodded as Rod walked to Aurille, grabbing the man's hand and shaking it.

"Have faith."

"Have faith."

"Have faith."

_Have faith in __**me.**_

In less than twenty seconds, all the data and information gathered by the functioning nervous system of the Advisory was erased as easily as one deletes a file on a computer.

One of the smartest people in the history of planet earth once said "Science without Religion is lame, Religion without Science is blind" in reference to the conflict between the search for tangible knowledge that defines science, and the seemingly blind faith that defines religion. The man had suggested that in reality, both needed each other to some extent.

In one swift move, Rod had wiped knowledge from the minds of his followers, leaving them blind to everything except what he told them.

After a moment, Rod calmly stood before them and spoke up.

"Now, Deltoffe… get Pastor Nick to check up on Historia. We need to prepare her, soon."

Deltoffe only nodded in response.

…

Dell Sannes led a pair of his more experienced MPs towards the church of the cult of the walls.

Crow kept a calm demeanor as he eyed him from a rooftop.

"Kenny was telling the truth, ma'm, looks like he is moving down the main street in order to reach the church. I see them only carrying their ODM blades, no guns."

"Got it, be ready to drop him."

"Copy."

He made sure not to move much as he obsereved the Interior Police officers walk towards the church.

Oh there were people around, certainly, but even pedestrians had blind spots.

"Sparrow, you and the Delta boys set?"

"Affirmative."

Crow watched as the CIA woman stood smoking on the street corner.

It was almost eerie how all three of the MPs actually turned their heads simultaneously to look at her.

He knew it wasn't lust in their eyes, however.

These men had not seen her before, but stopping to check up on what they presumed was a hooker wasn't in their to-do list. It was just an odd curiosity.

The woman grinned and then, just as they passed her, she started shouting in her thick, southern accent "I heard a little birdie say that King Fritz is actually a stand in for the real king!"

The three MPs stopped dead in their tracks and glared at the woman.

Several civilians turned their heads, some stopped what they were doing, and Crow felt reminded of old western films.

"Would you like to apologize for disrespecting his majesty?" Djel pretended to ask her.

She grinned, and loudly said "Another little birdie told me that the interior police are planning to assault the Americans because they won't bow down before the true king!"

"Silence you-"

"Another little birdie told me the Advisory worship a supposed god they call the Founder! Now ain't that just the _craziest_ thing you've ever heard?! But it's true! As true as the name of the True King is-"

Djell drew his blades and approached the woman.

"Eek! They plan to kill me for speaking the truth! Oh, won't somebody help me?!"

In response, the civilians on the street vacated the area, moving into the nearby buildings and closing the doors, or just running as far away as they could.

Djel said "Who have you been speaking with?"

The CIA agent simply gave the man a devilish grin.

"Right… Ralph."

The man smirked and approached the smiling woman.

"Now!" Crow hissed into his radio.

From a nearby alley, hooded figures quickly ran out in the open and ambushed the Interior Police Officers.

Sannes barely whirled around in time to see the hooded figure slam a fist into the side of his skull, knocking him out cold.

NATO doctrine involved a sort of "decapitation" strategy when dealing with the enemy: take down the commanding officer first.

This left the remaining troops without direction, easier to deal with, and precisely why most modern armies tried to allow for a level of flexibility between combat troops.

The Interior Police were nothing like a modern army.

The second Djel went down, it was every man for himself.

The remaining MPs drew their swords and tried to attack the Delta operatives closest to them, no coordination, no strategy, just trying to reach their target and kill despite being outnumbered. This wasn't necessarily a terrible strategy, as the attackers appeared to be unarmed, and the MPs had blades and ODM gear.

_*pop*_

Crow sighed as the MP crumbled to the floor, more than likely dead. While suppressors didn't cut the noise of a gun much if at all, out in the open, it was easier to mask.

He made sure to pick up the empty shell casing off the floor as he stood up.

_Leave as little evidence as possible._

The second MP named Ralph winced and stopped his attempted attack, instantly realizing that he was alone facing ten guys, one at least armed with a weapon he could not counter.

He made eye contact with Crow just as he began stepping back from the advancing figures.

He noticed the rifle.

"A-Americans?" he asked, worried.

"Stop where you are." Crow ordered.

The MP glanced at his knocked out commander and his dead comrade.

Frustrated he lifted his hands in surrender.

"Good, that's good." The woman he had been about to arrest said, the evil grin never leaving her pale face.

"What do you want with us?!" the MP demanded.

"Just removing the head." the CIA agent said with a sigh, two of the cloaked figures surrounded him and tied him down with some bizarre plastic rope the man had never seen before.

He stared as two of the men dragged the body away and another poured water on the spilled blood.

"What… what do you mean by removing the head… exactly?" Ralph managed to ask after a moment.

The woman only smiled at him.

…

Ian tapped his foot impatiently as his men interviewed the civilians.

After too long a wait, one of them approached him and said "They say some men in dark cloaks knocked them down and took them."

He glanced at the street, unsure of what this was.

"Could be some ne gang that escaped the Underground." the MP suggested.

Ian was silent for a moment, but then spoke up quickly.

"Mark them down as dead and close the investigation"

At the look of confusion from his subordinate, the young officer said "The Americans were asking questions about the interior, and we can't have them thinking we have no control over it. if they do, then how long will it be until some of them sneak in here and try to start a coup from down there?"

The other MP still looked unsure.

"Look, Sannes was telling me that until we're rid of them, the Americans cannot be allowed to suspect that something is wrong in the capital, King's orders."

The other MP nodded and continued on his way.

_This was one of our Commanders, one of the few people in charge of the Interior Police forces! Damn it all!_

Ian clenched his jaw and muttered "We'll pay them back… soon enough."

…

"The targets were fully cooperative, haven't really resisted down there."

General Connor said "Glad to hear it. I was worried approving this mission would blow up in our faces."

"We're ready to take out the King, too, if you would like."

"We aren't at war yet, let's just focus on keeping them from trying anything."

"Understood, general. We hear the representative is with you reviewing the new information?"

He glanced at a tired Kelly who was reading the translated information Ilse had written down.

"Yeah. The president wants a report, and he will be happy to hear you guys got one of the heads of the anti-personnel forces."

"We aim to please, General."

"Anyway, you guys do your thing and keep an eye out on the situation over there."

"Is the heiress doing okay?"

"Shaken, but… she seems to be handling it alright so far."

"General, if I may…"

"Yes?"

"The people here aren't like the ones in Iraq or Afghanistan. They have some trust in the king, so it may not be entirely wise to push for a coup, even if the Military officials agree."

"I think the president agrees… I'll get back to you."

"Understood, General." She said, Connor placing the radio into place, ending the conversation.

The small office was silent until Kelly spoke up.

"What do you think?"

"Kenny is siding with us thus far, we have the Shifters in protected areas, and you made it extremely clear to the self-proclaimed new king that we are not here to serve him. he would have to be a complete retard to try and attack us now."

Kelly was silent.

"Of course, that a what we thought of the Germans in the winter of 1944… sometimes you aren't fighting a rational enemy and have to think outside the box." He mumbled, glancing out the window.

He saw a seemingly invested Ilse Langnar showing off the newest arrivals from across the gate to the Shiganshina trio while the Army and Marine escorts kept an eye on them. The Shiganshina trio looked positively blown away with the machines they now got to see in person, well, with the exception of the Asian girl who seemed to be as depressed as the short Captain he had to interact with on occasion.

He turned to look at the new arrivals himself.

_Four F-35s, a fleet of UH-64 Apaches, and more on planes on the way…_

He glanced at his paper requesting more aircraft, specifically long range airplanes, but those were for the finished runway.

_Wonder if the President will allow the Air Force to send in some A-10s…_

He smiled slightly at the sense of wonder coming from the eyes of the kids.

"Kelly, I like these people… if what lies beyond the walls wants them destroyed…"

The US representative said nothing as she continued to review the information she had available.

…

The American president sucked in a breath, trying desperately to ignore the pounding within his forehead.

"Alright, just so that we're clear..." he glanced at the Japanese ambassador and the Secretary of Defense before turning once again to the computer monitor with both General Connor and US representative Kelly on the screen.

"From the top, please."

General Connor shifted some papers around and said "According to our… newest additions, titans didn't just appear a hundred years ago, the first known case happened millennia ago, when a young girl named Ymir supposedly made a pact with the devil. Given the information found within the basement as well as testimony from our own Ymir… the story seems to be consistent in that Titans were used by this Ymir person to create a vast empire."

"Details are, of course, sketchy, but this Eldian Empire seemed to rule over most of the world until a little more than a century ago. In that time, the original Ymir split her power amongst nine members of the royal family; these are the titan shifters we have encountered." Kelly added.

"Right, so… then what? It just… collapsed? Like the king made it collapse?" the president asked.

"From what the Warriors are saying, the king just retreated with a large contingency of his citizens behind the walls he created using millions of colossal titans. This supposedly led to a large scale war between the different royal families within the empire that ended when one particular family assisting the Marleyans in capturing almost all the other titan shifters, flipping the power scales and granting control of the empire to the oppressed Marleyans."

"And that was about a hundred years ago?" the president asked, trying to ignore the fact that the walls surrounding his soldiers were literally composed of millions of the gigantic version of the monsters they were trying to kill.

"According to what we have here, yes." Kelly breathed.

The president sighed.

_Things are never so simple._

"So we have an oppressed people suddenly gaining control over the same powers that oppressed them. I take it they were fair and responsible with their newfound powers." He said sarcastically.

"Ymir wasn't so sure on the details, but… if what Annie and Bertholdt say is true, then this book isn't lying about the current state of affairs."

Civilians remotely related to the ancient empire were only allowed to live within designated zones, only allowed outside if they had certain papers, and if they broke the law, punishment was _not_ prison time or even heavy fines. Man, woman, child… they would be put on a ship, sailed across the ocean, dropped off on the island, and injected with titan spinal fluid, transforming them into the monstrosities known as titans, forced to exist as a man eating beast for eternity.

"This is just as bad as Nazi Germany…" the American Representative mumbled.

"And yet not at all. We are dealing with one race that oppressed another for centuries, and now the tables have been flipped. It isn't fair, but it isn't as simple as… well, anything." the Japanese ambassador replied in a tired voice.

General Connor nodded, saying "Hell, even Nazi Germany wasn't just acting out of hatred for no reason. The post war treaties caused a lot of suffering amongst the already beaten down population back then. That said, this level of brutality is something we have never seen before. Most genocides on our side of the gate result in one side slaughtering another, not one side mutating the other in order to maintain control over the planet."

The president was silent.

"Mister President?"

The man leaned forward in his seat and spoke slowly.

"Alright, let's focus on one thing at a time. The true king, Rodd Reiss… how do we know he can't just erase or manipulate the memories of everyone now?"

"Information is sketchy, but according to both Ackerman and the given information in the journals, this… Founder can only manipulate those with Eldian blood, Ackermans being the sole exception. Which leads us to the fact that all races here, not at least partly Eldian, were slaughtered in the last century in order to maintain the illusion that humanity beyond the walls was gone." she added gravely.

"Why on earth would he want to keep that illusion up so badly?" the Japanese ambassador mumbled to himself, just to keep his mind off the possibility that people over there related to his own in some way, had been practically annihilated for no reason.

Kelly could only shrug.

"Alright, we deal with him first. Connor, the king is demanding we send the captured shifters to the capital in order to give them a trial?"

"Yes sir, Mister President."

"Alright, let's give him what he wants."

"Sir?" Kelly asked.

"They can have their little trial, show the population how serious they are about punishing their enemies, but the result matters little as they belong to us now. We need to make that much clear. They can judge them, but once the trial ends, they go back to Hill Zero One, and the trial won't happen until we are satisfied with the information they have given us. Tell them that exactly."

He took a breath.

"Connor, when the day comes, ready a mechanized unit to escort these children to the capital, get Colonel Parker to send some Army forces as well, they want witnesses I believe. I sent you some more aerial assets, put them to good use… hell, go ahead and surprise me! Give them a show of force bigger than the last one!"

The President felt like the Secretary of Defense would chew him out for making a decision like this, but he had basically ordered the General to keep the kids away from the capital until further notice, so the plan could still change.

"But Mister President, if what the shifters say is true, the King may want to capture them in order to… _literally_ devour them, as one of them may be the lost Founder."

"Exactly why he _won't_ get them. Not only do we have the Founder, we have the heir to the throne. Put the princess- uh… _Historia_ under armed security, we want her safe and comfortable. And if the king tries something… keep the Special Forces over there hacking away at their interior forces, Commanders, commanding officers, anything short of the king himself. We don't want any bloodshed, but we can't just let him walk all over us, so keep that chain of command hurting."

Connor nodded slowly.

"Mister President, I need to advise you that planning to overthrow a sovereign state-"

He cut her off.

"Overthrow nothing. We simply tell them the truth of the situation, and they can either accept it or not. Just keep in mind that we have multiple sources confirming they want us gone and are allocating forces to do just that."

Silence.

"I told you, we aren't playing games anymore."

"I recommend you inform our other allies beforehand. If this blows up, the backlash will most certainly affect you." the Japanese ambassador replied.

_Affect everyone involved, too…_

"Yeah, Connor, alert our people in the capital, too. Also, uh… see if we can locate this port the self-proclaimed Warriors mentioned. Maybe we could use it as evidence if the locals doubt the information."

"Yes sir, mister president."

The man nodded, feeling uneasy as he did so.

Despite the theories about him, he wasn't someone who wanted war; he didn't even like the idea of overthrowing openly hostile governments.

It was too much work, it wasn't good for the economy, and if it wasn't solved properly the nation would only become a black hole as it absorbed resources but never became better.

He didn't want to make the same mistake his predecessors had, yet sometimes it seemed like there was no other choice.

He tried to take comfort in the fact that if push came to shove, he would be overthrowing a man that was perfectly okay with murdering whole groups of people for simply existing, that there was no way these people could fight back against armored vehicles and machine guns, but he found himself hoping the true king simply surrendered and went along with his orders to allow the US to take custody of the shifters.

_Like that would ever happen…_

* * *

**A/N: Welcome to the "Revelation 13" Arc! **

**Yeah, I had been calling every chapter after some kind of military phrase or terminology (Contact for chapter 1, Combined Arms for chapter 2, etc.), but i think this arc warrants it as things finally come to a head on the island of Paradis.**

**Speaking of, this chapter felt rushed, but I just don't see it happening with modern elements. Many of the Attack on Titan mysteries were kept mysteries because of technological limitations, so the second one mystery got solved (how come Eren is a titan) everything else would just kind of fall into place and answers would abound, but I worry it elt rushed or unrealistic, or overloaded… let me know if it felt like that at all. Really appreciate the feedback you guys give me.**

**Anyway, on to the Reviewer response!**

**Guest- introducing new technology to Paradis, like television, cell phones, modern restaurants, etc.?**

**Rod has been kinda putting a damper on that, but given the situation… eventually.**

**Guest- US launching satellites?**

**I plan to addressed in this arc, as building a rocket platform would take too long and be kind of expensive, I think some old fashioned methods will have to be used… probably.**

**Guest- US learning that this is actually an alternate earth?**

**I think some of the earth side characters theorized about it, and with the presence of Asians, I think most people are beginning to assume this is some alternate earth and not simply another world.**

**Guest- what was the abnormality discovered in the cadet's blood?**

**I want to say that it has to do with the chemical composition, as for it to allow for any one Eldian to have access to regeneration of almost supernatural proportions would certainly be noticeable, dormant or not, but I am unfortunately not a doctor or a scientist, so I apologize for not giving you a better answer.**

**Guest- is the gate permanently connected to our earth and AOT earth without side effects because Rory "gave it to us"?**

**Yeah, kind of. Rory mentioned that (like in the Gate canon) the gate can connect two worlds, but as both worlds continue to drift apart, side effects occur which can be disastrous. The implication in chapter 6 was that our reality and the reality of the Attack on Titan world were on a sort of "even trajectory" so the side effects would never manifest. Keep in mind that Rory is trying to help realities by connecting them to each other, unlike Hardy who did it out of boredom. Now, this could be going against some rule in the Gate canon, and if it is, do let me know, but I believe Lelei managed to do something similar in the web novel later on, so it didn't seem too farfetched. Do let me know if I'm off, though. **

**Guest- Who is the President? Donald Trump or someone else? What's his name?**

**That's actually kind of complicated. **

**On one hand, I want to avoid politics as much as possible, but this is a "what if" scenario analyzing how a world changing event, albeit a small one, would realistically affect our own world if it happened around the present day, so it makes it impossible to leave politics out of it completely, and if I want to be realistic, I have to ask myself what our real world leaders would do in this scenario, yes, including President Donald Trump. **

**On the other hand, Gate fics tend to get a bit too political, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but oftentimes they dive into the realm of either glorifying too much or condemning too much and I personally find it extremely annoying when a story I am reading tells me "this guy/country sucks because his/their politics suck" and I really want to avoid doing the same thing. Not here to preach to the reader, and if it ever feels like I am, let me know. **

**My solution all the way back in chapter 1 was to just not name any major figures in politics, and I have tried to keep it up in order to avoid falling into the trap of writing a sort of "political fanfiction", that way I can avoid writing real people doing things they may never do in real life.**

**Problem is, I want this to also be as realistic as can be as I have confirmed that the Gate opened sometime in late 2018 and the fic is currently taking place sometime in early or mid-2019, so it's already kind of alternate history. **

**Best I can do is say that whoever is in office has similar policies and attitudes of our real life leaders, and may or may not be the actual sitting US president from our world. (crappy answer, I know, but Your Mileage May Vary). **

**TL;DR- let's assume that whoever is in office has a similar policy/attitude compared to our real life leaders and leave it at that. If you want to talk politics and my personal take, PM me.**

**Okay, so that's about it for this Reviewer response. I apologize for not answering questions about the future of the story, like when will the US find the OIL or how the US will treat the shifters, but I do plan on answering them as the story continues, so stay tuned!**

**That said, thank you al so much for reading! If anything felt off with this chapter, do let me know, I love all the feedback you guys have been giving me, and I hope you enjoy this next part of the fic.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Revelation 13:10**

* * *

The _Harvester _stood silently next to one of her sisters by the breached entrance to Wall Maria, the early morning sun making both tanks look almost picturesque in the light.

Outside the wall, the weather felt eerily silent, as if time was frozen beyond this land, and no birds could be heard, no animals could be seen, and even the trees nearby seemed to just exist.

_It certainly felt like a dead world._

"Still no tangos?" Ryan asked Darnell, who was monitoring the radio.

His commander shook his head.

"Harriers spotted and neutralized one two hours ago… you think we got rid of them all with that last engagement?"

Martinez spoke up, saying "Of course we did. My worry is the people sending them out. I mean, Christ, did the Nazis go that far? We're talking about sentencing people to an eternity of devouring their own kind without any way to stop, right?"

Ryan shrugged.

"Know who's gonna be _really _pissed?" he asked then.

No one answered.

"Every politician back home! Those that had promised this was just a humanitarian mission to get bi-partisan support will suddenly have to backtrack, those who actually supported the president to get this done without escalating to a war will probably feel betrayed, and those who actually want us to go to war will probably be pissed with all the arguments about it."

"Ah, Americans." Martinez sighed.

"No, just politics, you bean-"

"There won't be a war, so you two can relax." Darnell stated calmly.

All eyes turned to him then.

"Even if this Marley nation refuses any and all negotiations, all we have to do is defend this… island or territory or whatever. Going on the offensive will be difficult without resorting to ballistic missiles, and people will be infuriated if the war leads to even one civilian casualty, enemy or not. I think that if Marley wants to fight, it'll be a fight to keep this land, not a war on multiple fronts."

"Still, if what those books say is true, then the whole world hates the people living here. No matter what we do, we're going to get labeled the villains, devils like the people we protect."

"Doesn't help that Eldia was apparently as bad if not worse only a century ago… Honestly, I don't see any easy way out."

Silence for a moment then.

Ryan finally said "Meh, hope for the best plan for the worst."

"Which reminds me… Ryan, we'll be heading back to Hill Zero One later this week."

Ryan wasn't sure why his commander was addressing him specifically until he remembered who _else _was now residing within the fortified base.

"Ah… got it."

_Maybe I can lend her the Switch for a bit, sign of a peace offering or something… we're here to peace keep, after all._

…

"And they can carry laser guided bombs, too!" Ilse half recited from memory, half bragged as she lightly tapped the front wheel of the brand new additions of F-35B Lightning.

"Please refrain from damaging the aircraft…"

Whether the Marine was specifically talking to her or to himself was of little consequence as Ilse promptly took a step away from the latest fighter jet in the arsenal of the United States Armed Forces.

Standing next to the older Marine Harriers, the four sleek and shiny F-35s were the latest argument on online military boards and actual budget discussions.

The damned things were expensive.

Coming in at a low estimate of ninety five million US dollars, the F 35s were designed to fill in multiple roles as technology advanced an improved.

It could be a fighter jet, its stealth technology hopefully making it easy to both escape enemies and surprise them in a dogfight.

It could fill the role of close air support, its 25 millimeter gun and ability to carry bombs and anti-tank missiles fitting easily into its weapons bay.

And that was ignoring all the little classified aspects that the public just wasn't fully aware of.

"So… why are you designing it to fight against other aircraft if mankind is essentially at peace on the other side of the gate?" Armin asked after a second.

Eren and Mikasa seemed to almost nod in agreement.

It was a valid question.

"Better safe than sorry, if you think about it. The US has a couple of rivals that, while not at war with, could potentially pose a threat, and they probably want to have an edge should any of these powers suddenly decide to try something against them. Same applies to any country with a rival." Ilse replied courtly.

_Nobody tell them that China and the US actually have a bizarre love-hate relationship while Russia just kind of minds its own business._

"Is it the Russians?" Eren asked, seemingly out of genuine concern.

_Damn it all!_

"Well, yes and no… Russia has a very large military, and does occasionally operate outside its own borders, but it isn't as clear cut as it might have been a hundred years ago. Most of the powerful nations like the US try to peace keep around smaller nations while safeguarding their own interests, so direct war isn't something as likely to happen anymore. That said, the US views the Chinese as a greater threat right now-"

"The Orientals?" Eren asked again.

Ilse blinked.

"Um… again, yes and no… China is one large country in the orient that has a powerful economy and manufactures a lot of goods that the US buys… and are indebted to… but the big concern is that China has been trying to expand more in recent years, and while I doubt anyone wants a war, there is some concern over how far they are willing to go, such as cracking down on religious people they claim are acting against the state."

Eren was about to ask another question when Ilse cut him off.

"You'll have to ask someone else if you want to know anything more about China; things are kind of complicated over there, and what I just said might be a little bit too oversimplified, but I highly doubt war could break out. Now, these planes should not only help us locate the area where this Marley nation lands its… ships, but if necessary, they have the capacity to sink them… if _necessary_."

_I think… pretty sure… no matter, once that runway is built the Marines can bring in actual ship destroyers, like the F-18s. _

Eren stared at the sleek looking planes.

He figured any form of flying machine would be an advantage against titans, and a part of him desperately wanted to fly one himself, but after flying in a UH-60, and seeing the controls first hand, he now knew for sure it was out of his league.

_No way he could learn to fly one before his time was up…_

He could still admire the aircraft, though.

"Anyway come on, one of the cool things about the American military is that they have vehicles for _every_ situation!"

She led the trio down the now cemented road of the base, moving closer to a large structure in the center of it all.

"Is that-?" Armin, who had been silent so far, began to blurt out.

Ilse had expected it, and quickly said "Yup! The doorway that connects our worlds… The Gate!"

It was actually smaller than Armin had imagined.

Large, sure, high enough that a fifteen meter titan could easily walk inside and wide enough to allow for multiple American vehicles to cross at once, but compared with the buildings already constructed around it, the large structure looked relatively average.

The group stood at its entrance for a moment; seeing that it was, indeed, open.

Several vehicles were exiting from it.

"Those are Strykers, they belong to the US Army and are very similar to the Marine LAVs; the biggest difference is that these are newer and better armored, but can't really _swim_ like the LAVs can." Ilse said grinning from ear to ear.

"Swim?" Armin asked, less because he didn't know what it meant, more because he wasn't sure why the Marines went with _that _term to describe a vehicle that works on both land and water.

"Swim!" she replied cheerfully.

Eren eyed the vehicles with some degree of excitement, but his attention was almost too quickly pulled to the darkness within the large structure.

It was empty.

He had seen empty places before, but the darkness composing the inside of that doorway was something else.

He stared at it until the last vehicles exited the Gate and the soldiers guarding the entrance shut the doors to it.

Eren blinked and asked "Miss Langnar, how is it in that Gate?"

Ilse was caught off guard by the question.

"Well, I thought I was in a cave at first. It's really dark and cold, but the floor is very smooth and you can see the other end clearly so you can't really get turned around and lost."

Armin found himself more curious now as well and asked "Any idea how it opened?"

Ilse furrowed her brow before sighing in defeat.

"It just showed up… almost in the blink of an eye, actually. Their scientists have been looking into it, but I don't really know a lot about their results or what they know."

The teenagers nodded and continued to stare at the convoy exiting the gate.

Well, Yeager and Arlert continued to stare inquisitively at the structure.

The girl, Ackerman, looked, to put it mildly, emotionally dead.

Ilse had only been giving the trio a tour of the base for the last hour and she could have sworn the dark circles under the girl's eyes had both darkened and grown since she arrived with the others.

_Yeager and Ymir apparently only have less than a decade left to live…_

Ilse pursed her lips, unsure of what to say.

She was supposed to be distracting them as well as educating them on their new environment, but it was clear the dark haired girl was too absorbed in trying not to break down after getting the news that one of those closest to her was, for all intents and purpose, terminally ill.

Unlike terminally ill cases on the other side, however, Eren wouldn't spend years glued to a bed, slowly getting worse.

In fact, it was something that might be averted… _might_.

"Hey, Ackerman, quiz time!"

The girl glanced up, only slightly.

Ilse ignored what some other officers would label as a defiant glare and asked "Where are your bunks?"

The girl immediately said "Area B, except for Eren and Ymir who will be sleeping in the medical bay located in Area F."

Ilse nodded slightly.

"Good, now it's easy to get lost around here, so spend the rest of the day getting yourselves acquainted with the area, we'll be nearby if you need anything. Holler if you need me, okay?"

Armin almost looked like he was about to ask something, but remained silent as the older girl walked away.

…about twenty feet.

Ilse had actually walked back to the Army team that was escorting her- them, this whole time. It was a bit jarring, walking down the paved paths among the base with a Humvee following meters behind them.

"One would assume they would try to be more conspicuous." Armin mumbled.

"Well, I guess it's better to see them, that way we know we can focus on other things and-"

"They're just a distraction…" Mikasa mumbled.

The two teenaged boys glanced at her.

The girl pointed at the roofs of the prefab buildings.

"Scouts." she said after a minute.

"I don't see anyone."

"They probably don't want us seeing them. They would probably know how to take me down if I got out of control… probably." Eren stated with zero emotion in his voice.

Now it was Eren's turn to be stared at.

Even assuming what was in his father's books was true in its entirety their situation had changed surprisingly little. They were still under siege, they were still technically alone in the world, and titans were still the primary enemy… for the moment, at least.

Mikasa was about to ask if he was feeling well when the young man immediately lightened up, saying "Armin, Ilse mentioned that there was a television in the cafeteria, yeah?"

"Uh- yes?"

"Well, come on! Let's go see if they're showing things from their world!"

Armin noticed their friend appeared to be trying to distract from the reality of the situation, perhaps focus on having a good time before they needed to get serious, but he couldn't say anything as Eren began leading them forward.

As the teens were excitedly pushed on by their usually grumpy titan shifter, Ilse couldn't help but sigh.

"This is all sorts of messed up…" Jake stated.

"You think? How exactly did the kid get his shifter powers, anyway?" Matt asked.

Ilse didn't reply.

"Matt, you think this Marley nation will cooperate?"

It was Matt's turn not to reply.

"Scouts are moving up, maybe we should keep up, too." Ilse said after a moment.

The Humvee rolled ahead slowly, almost in silence as the soldiers reflected on the situation.

The world was apparently more hostile than they all had first thought.

It was one thing to be fighting a mindless, disorganized force of allegedly immortal giants, and hell, even that wasn't as easy as it looked.

But for there to be a human intelligence behind the giants, for there to be an enemy that could actually think on its own, causing all that harm for no other reason than an unbridled hatred… it was a situation most historians were tired of seeing.

That level of human cruelty certainly wasn't unheard of on their side of the gate.

"You know, I think we could win even if every nation on earth turned against us." Dave said suddenly.

The other four soldiers glanced at him.

"I mean… okay, not if nukes were involved- but who would win _that_?! We could destroy the world, sure but Russia has-"

"_Don't say the N word!_" the other four soldiers hissed.

"Oh, who's gonna hear, you?"

"Don't matter! We just discovered the enemy has the technology to transform people into giants. Even if it appears that they are only in the early 1900s tech wise, we can't know for sure! What if they're actually _more_ advanced than we are? What if they have spies hiding around here?"

"Well, then… we use the… N words to N word them from God damn orbit! God!"

"N word?"

All eyes turned to Petra who had walked up to the Humvee.

"Uh- sorry?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Petra asked; her eyebrow rose with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"Black people… they can be used for multiple purposes believe it or not!" Matt said, almost too prepared.

Petra blinked, visibly unsure if they were hiding something from her.

Ilse wasn't about to let her ponder on that possibility for too long.

"So! Everything okay?"

The girl nodded slowly, saying "Yeah, but things are getting… more complicated. Miss Hanji and Commander Erwin want us to make sure the cadets are safe."

"Okay, well, Yeager seemed to be heading to the cafeteria… complicated how?"

"Well, ignoring the whole… rest of the world allegedly wanting us dead part, the true King is…"

"Ah… a whole maelstrom of problems."

…

Commander Erwin controlled his breathing as he read the information for the second time in less than twenty four hours.

This was it, undeniable proof.

His father was right, he had been right all long! The world, the outside world, it wasn't overrun with titans; it was full of people still growing and advancing!

Yet, he felt no joy.

He didn't feel hope upon reading the books left behind by Grisha Yeager.

_The situation is no different than the ones we found ourselves before, only the enemy is clearer now. Is this what we sacrificed so many lives for? What I sacrificed so many people for?_

"If I were you I would put that away. Until we locate their docks, we won't be able to communicate with anyone."

Erwin nodded as General Connor placed a cup of what the Americans called "coffee" on the table next to him.

"I just wish to commit this to memory… how is our guest doing?"

Connor opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, frowned, sat down next to Erwin and simply said "You ever get gut punched so hard you piss your pants and have to literally run home to change your outfit?"

Erwin said nothing.

"Historia Reiss… who would have thought… this can't be a coincidence, can it? Five titan shifters out of the supposed nine that exist on the planet, as well as a member of _the_ royal family… you just don't see that kind of stuff happen." the general said.

Erwin laughed.

"Your world is open and free; ours is quite closed, even now. The 104th were the newest regiment being trained by the time these kids became old enough to join, and even if they were placed in different battle groups, they would still be part of the 104th."

Connor shook his head, wanting to argue with the facts but knowing he couldn't. All he could do was deal with the situation he was being handed.

"Well, she seems kind of… in shock. She knew her father was important, not that he was royalty. Poor kid doesn't seem to know anything we can use."

"Use?"

"Come on, Erwin… you saw the true king yourself, the guy wants us gone, one way or another."

Erwin didn't reply, knowing the advisory had always been against the Survey Corps… had a fight been inevitable even if the Americans hadn't shown up?

"I know, I know… we aren't here to fight humans, we're here to help you out, get you on your feet, but tell me how we're supposed to help you when your own government doesn't want us doing so?"

"…you've seen this before."

It wasn't a question.

Connor slowly nodded.

"…what happened then?"

He scoffed.

"It's still going on now… about… oh, a little less than eighteen years, we were attacked on our own homes. The very city where that gate opens up in got hit by… people that wanted us gone… they quite literally tried to hit the heads of our country… they hit our economy…"

_The South Tower is- Oh, dear God!_

"…our military…"

_We are just getting word that a plane has crashed into the Pentagon…_

"…they tried to hit our heads of government, too, but that failed, thank God…"

The tired general shook his head and said "About three thousands of our people died. We got scared, we… well… we lashed out. To put it simply, we invaded two nations, effectively destroyed them, and decided to try and rebuild them."

"It didn't work, huh?"

Connor sighed.

"We thought most of the work was done in one and pulled out… _that _was a mistake, let's just leave it at that. We're still there today, got guys trying to make whatever progress they can, keep what few people in the region sympathize with us alive… we aren't gone yet, but there is no way in hell things are going to have a happy ending over there. A good chunk of the people want us gone, preferring to remain how they are than do what we want them to, but leaving them to their own devices resulted in our enemies having an excellent base from which to attack us… it's an ugly situation with no easy way out."

Connor turned to face Erwin.

"This place isn't like that, commander. The people here are curious about what we have, what we can do, they don't see us as invaders, they're just happy to have good news- hope, again. The kids in the 104th, the scouts, your own officers are actively looking for ways to better things with the new technology we brought- even the wall church doesn't seem to mind us. Everyone is… Everyone except your advisory… We don't want a fight, but if we have to..."

Erwin sighed "I guess humans always were their own enemy."

"And ally." the General replied, not in the mood for allowing the final word to be a negative one.

There was silence for a moment, before Connor said "Do you think the people would accept Historia as the new queen in the event Rod Reiss needs to be deposed?"

Erwin was silent. He glanced at the book on the desk once more.

"I wouldn't know in all honesty… should we make this information public?"

"The plan is to hold on to it until we can reach anything resembling a deal with the king… good news, it means we have time on our hands to iron out the details of both a peaceful resolution and a violent one."

…

"…So… if you had a name, I would love to remember it, but it's all too fuzzy to recall. I'm sorry." Ymir said, staring at the titan bowing to her, within in its cage, its eyes closed to show reverence to the person it had once viewed as a goddess.

It didn't respond, though.

"I… I also want to tell you that I am not a goddess… I never was."

The titan remained bowed down, face buried on the floor, never responding.

"Hey… say something." the girl said, mildly irritated.

Whether it was irritation at herself for being so simpleminded as to expect closure from a mindless titan, or irritated with the titan for not cooperating or speaking to her was unknown.

"…I can't turn you back… I'm sorry."

_But I promise that I'll let you eat me if it turns out that will save you…_

Given the inaction by the titan, Ymir grabbed the camera before turning around and walking back to an expectant Hanji.

"Did it speak?"

Ymir just shook her head and handed her the device.

"Shame… but at least it didn't scream, right?"

"It just bowed to me and stayed like that… I don't want to be here anymore." the girl sighed, sounding exhausted.

She walked out of the titan holding facility and began to head towards the cafeteria.

She stopped short of it, noticing Christa- Historia sitting outside the cafeteria, eating alone.

"Your _**majesty**_!" she called, mockingly.

"Shut up…" the short blonde almost growled.

"Ahh, just let me lighten the mood for you, princess! You look so much better when you smile!" Ymir said, pinching the girl's cheeks before pulling at them.

The blonde coldly pushed the girl's hands away.

Ymir smirked, saying "Oh, finally grew some backbone, eh?"

"Ymir, just… just let me eat in peace."

The taller girl nodded and responded by sitting down next to her, elbow resting on the shorter girl's head.

The girl formally known as Christa placed down a fork on her plate and glared at the girl before speaking up.

"…okay, fine… so! Titan?"

"Princess?"

"We both have our secrets."

"Except you were the only one who lied about it."

"What are-?!"

"Call me whatever you want, but I never lied about being a titan."

"No one asked if you were one to begin with!"

"Therefore, I did not lie."

At the inhumanly smug look Ymir gave her, Historia simply responded by balling her left hand into a fist and crashing it into the other girl's shoulder.

Ymir blinked before saying "Hmph, I… I think I _like_ this feisty version of you…"

"…Ymir there _is _no version of me."

Ymir raised an eyebrow.

"All the way up until yesterday I was pretending… pretending to be some nice girl I had read about back in the day… it's not like I'm actually little miss goody-two-shoes, I never got to be me, so now that the truth is out… there's nothing."

Ymir legitimately wanted to say something, anything to make the girl feel better, but everything that came to mind was a lie in one way or another.

_It's alright, Historia, things will get better- yeah right!_

She had no way of knowing if things would ever get better, or worse. Sure, the American aid could certainly help ensure the lands within the walls didn't suffer the fate awaiting so many of her kind across the sea, but what guarantee was there that they would stay there forever, let alone another month given the new information?

Still, she had to say _something._

"Well… on the bright side… least you're free to be yourself and try new things… as yourself."

"Yeah, I get to experience being a complete stranger in my own home as myself." she said with zero enthusiasm and an irritated look in her eye.

"See, that right there? Sarcasm! Never expected to hear that from you! Makes me want to tell everyone that _hey! Historia, formerly known as Christa, just employed sarcasm for the first time in recorded __**history**__!_" her friend said excitedly.

"Historia was sarcastic?" Eren asked, Armin and Mikasa following behind him.

The blonde whirled around and tried to sputter out a response before Ymir said "Oh yeah! Now that Christa is gone, her replacement is far more human like!"

The blonde was reduced to sputtering, trying to respond to multiple things.

"Honestly, that's a bit of a relief, between us, I always found your attitude a bit… well… creepy."

The girl's face began to redden.

"I- I mean- no offense!"

"You better not have, she's a feisty one now that she can show her true colors! Hits harder than you ever could, titan powers or not!" Ymir said, lording the shorter girl around like a proud parent.

"…you…guys…"

Twenty feet away and ten feet above ground level, Petra observed the little spectacle.

"Kind of reminds me of my time in the scouts." she mumbled.

"You ever notice how red you girls get when you don't want to talk about something? God _damn_, she looks like a ripe apple…" Oluo mumbled.

_Oh shut it…_

"Anyway, what's the plan for these kids?"

Petra didn't reply, unsure of what exactly the Americans had in mind for the two cooperating shifters. All she knew was that "science" would be involved.

"…I wonder what Hanji will do to them, though… human sized titans, probably her fantasy come true."

"Please don't put that image in my head."

"If you're asking me not to put something in your head, then it's probably already in there."

Petra shook her head as silence dominated once more, the two scouts eyeing the younger cadets.

"Oluo, Petra, sit rep, what do you guys see?" Gunther's voice came over the radio they had on the roof.

"Yeager appears to be under verbal attack by both Ymir and Historia as Armin holds Mikasa back and Eren kind of just seem to be enjoying the whole situation."

"…carry on."

"Kids being kids…" Petra mumbled.

…

Rod stared as the yellowish glow of the full moon as it shone through the windows, casting long shadows which gave his lonely office an eerie feeling as he contemplated his options.

The news the young MP Ian Kline had brought him was not good in any way.

_"What do you mean he was killed?!" _

_"It seems to be the only option, your majesty. The civilians say they heard a strange woman talk about crazy things, and when Sannes confronted her, a bunch of cloaked men attacked. He is either dead or kidnapped, sir. Due to the presence of the Americans, we haven't said anything to the press of course." the young man had said._

_"It must be the Americans!" Aurile had shouted, slamming a fist on his seat._

_"If it is them, then this is grounds to demand they march right back through that gate and seal it shut!" Deltoffe said with a hint of contempt. _

_Using his technique on them had certainly made them more fanatical, which he didn't mind, they were easier to control now, but he seriously needed rational thinking people to some extent._

_"Kenny, what do you think?" he had asked._

_The man actually seemed pensive, confused even. After a moment of thought, the captain said "I haven't been to the underground in a while."_

_"Then go gather intel! Grab what you need, head down to the Underground District, see if you find any clues! Sannes is vital, Kenny… we can't lose him if he's still alive."_

_"Alright, alright, I get it… take it easy, man of peace."_

_"Ackerman, your arrogance will be the death of you…" the younger MP had said._

_Kenny had ignored the young man and left the room._

That had been almost seven hours prior.

_Control is being taken from me… I must act on my own… and soon._

He considered sending the Americans a letter, both telling them and asking them to keep his daughter safe, but chose against it.

They didn't know about her yet, they couldn't, and letting them know would certainly leave him at a disadvantage.

Always better to keep your secrets, he had no way of knowing what they would do if they discovered her identity.

He grabbed his things and walked out of his office, heading down and out of the government building and into the mostly empty streets.

_Time for a backup plan…_

Rod walked a few blocks, ignoring the few civilians still out at that hour.

He stopped near an alley and looked around; making sure no one was looking at him before he walked inside.

"Your majesty?" a young man asked, standing up immediately.

"Apologies, Ian, I wanted to make sure no one followed me, and caution never hurts."

"No worries, sir."

Rod was silent for a moment before he said "I worry the Americans plan to remove us- my family and myself… The Founder…"

Ian nodded.

"How would you do it?" he asked him.

The young man was silent for a moment before saying "You need to show the people their true colors. Let's assume they have some dirt on you, so simply telling everyone that the people who have been bringing them medicine and food are not actually good won't be enough, especially if they start spreading rumors about the interior police killing civilians en masse in order to hide their secrets instead of punishing criminals."

Rod nodded.

"However, if we can convince the people the Americans are _not_ out to help them, and have actually been planning on conquering us this entire time… we would need to emulate their weapons to really pull it off, though."

As if someone had just lit a fire under his eyes, Rod suddenly said "The explosive guns…"

Ian looked at him confused.

"Years ago, on one of his operations… Sannes confiscated blueprints from a man who wanted to convert fireworks into these… rockets that explode similar to what the Americans use against the titans. The prototype the man built is long gone, but the blueprints are in deep storage in the Interior Headquarters… if we could just… get our hands on a few of these rockets, and…"

A plan began to form in Rod's mind.

"If the Americans start to push their boundaries gain, we can hit some of the officers who seem to be a little bit close with them… an accidental death perhaps… it would keep the Americans on their toes."

"It could anger them…"

"No, they are… soft hearted. Notice how they have taken extreme caution, always prioritizing the lives of their men. Even when they had to fight the human traffickers they _only_ killed one of them, sparing the other. If they are threatened by both us and the civilian population… they won't stay here if it means losing people, it's just not worth it to them."

Rod then turned to Ian and said "My boy, there is another contingency of graduated cadets of the 104th that has chosen to work with the Military Police, I want you to take charge of them. They're all about fifteen, so they should be easy to manage… and they could make for good cannon fodder if it comes down to it."

Ian nodded.

"Another thing… head to the headquarters and ask for the file on the experimental weapons… then go to this address in Wall Rose, and order ten of them for as soon as possible. Keep this talk between us, I don't know where the loyalties of the other officers lie, and I would prefer it if we kept them on their toes… make them think they know what's happening until it's too late."

"It shall be done, your majesty." he replied, offering up his heart in salute.

Rod made certain no one followed him as he headed back to the government building.

Was this the right thing to do?

Would Urie or his father have done something else?

He allowed for a melancholy sigh to escape him as he realized that he would find out soon enough.

_Historia… I'll see you soon._

…

Hours later, Ian Kline covered his nose as the man in front of him continued to smoke a cigar.

"Well, _Captain_ Kline, you certainly have the approval, but I must ask… why exactly are you asking the Reeves Company to assist his majesty in this… endeavor?"

Ian felt a tinge of disgust as the fat man made eye contact.

_Merhcants… loyal to the coin, not the king… but even they are able to serve his majesty._

"Part of the modernization process. King Fritz is very keen on starting up the development of new weapons to fight the titans with, but doesn't want to give anything away to the public eye. Your company operates off Trost, and has a relatively stable financial operation… surely you can manage these requests?"

The man returned a convincingly fake smile, before glancing at the blueprints once more.

"Well, I could give you a couple of them if I suspend some of my delivery operations, the money the king gave in advanced could be used to hire some extra hands, so the number doubles with that, but…"

Reeves looked at the design of the new weapon.

"I don't think I can get you ten of these rods by the end of the week."

"How about the end of the month?" Ian asked.

The man looked at the blueprints again.

"Well, it _is _a simple design, but some of the materials you are requesting are a bit hard to come by. That said, with the Americans handling the titans, there hasn't been as big a need for steel to replace lost Survey Corps materials, so… yes, I say we could get you ten of these by the end of the month."

"Good, get to it."

"Always a pleasure to do business with-"

"And before I forget… this is a top secret project. Nobody can know who is asking for these, nobody can know what these things do… just label it as a titan killing project, understand?"

Reeves stared at the dangerous glint in the eyes of the Military Police officer.

There was definitely something else going on here, but what business was it of his?

Reeves smiled politely.

"Of course, sir! Pleasure doing business with you!" he called.

…

Eren observed the moon from his room in the medical bay, which was a nice distraction from the silent darkness around him.

_To think they put people up there…_

He found the lack of humans to chat with bothersome, but he genuinely had nothing to do now.

_Just rest up, we can begin testing your abilities tomorrow._

He didn't like it.

Being alone, even with medical staff and American soldiers scattered all over, he was finding himself forced to think of his mortality now.

8 years left.

_It's not fair…_

He forced the thoughts away, knowing full well it was more than enough to destroy the enemies of humanity… human or otherwise.

He sighed.

He wondered why his father had done this to him, what goal could he possibly achieve by giving him titan shifter abilities? Defeat the Founder? Destroy Marley?

His thoughts shifted then to the fact that his father had a wife before his mother.

_Dina Fritz…_

He rubbed his chin deep in thought as he began walking in circles around the room.

"Dina Fritz… became Dina Yeager… gave birth to Zeke Yeager… Zeke betrayed his- our father as well as Dina, his mother, both of whom were members of a resistance… where would Zeke be now? What would he be up to?" he asked himself aloud, crossing his arms.

_Still a soldier? The Marlean military might have given him some honors or… maybe he was discharged?_

Eren tried to calculate how old the kid would be if he was made a Warrior soon after betraying his father and Dina.

With a sigh, he realized that if Zeke had become a warrior a year before his father met his second wife then he was probably dead by this point. That didn't change much for Eren, he would prefer it if he didn't have family on the other side of the wall.

_So that leaves… Dina…_

She had been a member of the original royal family, someone who could use the Founder, and finally someone who had become a titan as punishment for her treason.

He wondered if she had been killed during the clearing operations, or during the battle of Shiganshina or perhaps even before the Americans showed up in the first place.

He wasn't sure why he cared about her, but something about her picture bothered him. He tried to figure out what it was, even if he ultimately was unable to.

It was an excellent distraction from the possibility that had been nagging at him since he read his father's journals.

To become a titan, an Eldian requires titan spinal fluid be introduced into their body.

To become a titan shifter, a titanized Eldian must devour another titan shifter.

Going by that… who had he eaten?

He pushed the question aside and finally got some sleep.

He did have a big day tomorrow after all.

Working with the scouts, Team Levi… _the _Team Levi.

The thought alone made the young cadet too excited to fall asleep.

…

"Jeeeeesuuuuus." Jake breathed at the bizzare situation he was looking at.

Eren had transformed into a titan in the middle of a field not too far from Hill Zero One, partly thanks to some advice from Ymir who had explained the process earlier in the morning.

Step 1: make a small cut on your hand with a blade.

Step 2: have a clear goal in mind.

Step 3: transform.

What no one had expected is that instead of looking around or standing up, the teen had instead taken one glance at the scientists in the distance, and attempted to walk towards them, only to collapse on the ground and stay there for five minutes. A pair of Huey helicopters was hovering nearby; cautiously preparing their rockets should the giant got out of control or something along those lines.

"…Should Levi just-?" Ilse asked, lowering the binoculars.

"I'll get him out myself." Mikasa said, stepping out of the Humvee and walking ahead.

Jake had to stop her right there.

"Kid, you have no blades, and for all we know, this is normal. If we need to cut him out of there Levi is close enough to do the job so try not to push yourself too hard, okay?"

The girl reluctantly nodded.

She still looked visibly worried.

As for those closer to the collapsed beast, the situation was more odd than worrisome.

"Maybe he overheated?" Hanji mumbled.

Doctor Hermann shook his head, considering animals didn't exactly "overheat" but at this point he wasn't sure what he could say. Titans made very little biological sense, and calling them solar powered biological machines wasn't exactly off the mark.

"Maybe he's just getting used to consciously being a titan?" he said instead.

Levi who was nearby, glanced at the sun in the sky.

"Been almost five minutes… want me to cut him out of there?"

Hanji was about to reply when the giant began to shake, violently turning up earth and stone before rolling to its side and sitting up.

For a few tense seconds, nobody was sure what to do.

Team Levi stood ready to literally cut it to pieces if he acted hostile, and if they failed, the Hueys nearby would more than finish the job.

Instead, the titan sat up, there was a shudder, and a panicked Eren emerged from the nape.

Levi approached first, followed by the rest of his team.

Once seeing the boy was breathing heavily, Levi asked "What exactly was _that_?"

Eren shook his head, saying "I- I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare! I- I couldn't get out- it- didn't… Armin, Mikasa! Are they-?"

The boy looked around, seeing his friends off in the distance, along with the American forces.

"How long was I in there?" he asked.

"Only a few minutes." Petra replied.

Levi frowned.

"Felt… longer… sir, I am ready to try again!"

Levi shrugged, turning to Hanji.

He didn't see the woman rush past him to examine the teenager.

"Are you okay- is this arm shorter or longer now- what did you see in there- tell me everything!"

Levi could feel the small group of Americans holding the girl that clung to Yeager like a lost puppy back.

_Someone needs to teach her not to cling too much._

…

"I just think they're treating you too harshly." Mikasa said, worry lining her every word.

Eren stretched before sitting down with his lunch.

"Look, Mikasa, we have to work to not only understand this process, but to make sure we stand a better chance against the enemies beyond the walls. We still don't actually _know_ a whole lot about them, remember?"

"I thought Annie and Bertholdt said most of the stuff we know from the journals are true." Armin spoke up then.

"They could be lying, you know that."

A sad look spread across the young man's face, a part of him still not over the betrayal.

"But, who knows… maybe that's a good thing. Maybe things have changed over there since the three of them left, and maybe… maybe they don't want us all to die… maybe."

He looked around then, trying to find something to change the subject with.

He noticed Ymir picking at her food by herself.

"Hey, Ymir! Why are you eating by yourself?".

The girl turned to look at them before sighing and walking over to them.

"Chris- Historia is chatting with the military officers… I guess they're grooming her to be queen should the need arise or something."

"Oh… do you think she wants to be queen?"

Ymir shrugged.

"Honestly, as long as she makes her own choice, I don't think it matters too much."

They were silent for a moment when the cafeteria door opened and a platoon of American tankers walked in.

Ymir narrowed her eyes, prompting Eren to ask "Something wrong?"

The girl was glaring at a particularly pale American before turning back to her meal and angrily muttering "No, nothing's wrong."

"Hey, kids, how's the food?"

The four cadets turned to look at the American who had moved away from the others.

"Hey, wait a second… you're… you're Ryan, right?"

"Yeah, and you're the kid who put his rounds the wrong way! Who would've thought you'd be so important?"

"…yeah…"

Silence.

Ryan cleared his throat and turned to Ymir.

"So! You okay?"

"What do you care?"

"…Yeah, I know… can't exactly blame you for holding a grudge."

Ymir said nothing.

"Where's your friend, or girlfriend, or cousin or whatever you two are?"

"Historia is with the officers… probably being groomed to be queen or something…"

"Ah… right…"

Ryan let out an exasperated sigh before saying "Look, the guys and I are going to be staying here for a few weeks to fix up our tanks, until that time…"

He placed a device on the table the cadets recognized as the video game console known as the Switch.

"You want to buy me with that?"

"Use it or don't, I left the batteries in and it's fun for the whole family or whatever… you can give it back when you're done or if you don't understand something." the soldier said before heading back to his crew.

Ymir looked bemused before grabbing the device and hiding it under her coat.

"Do you even know how it works?" Eren asked.

"A little."

"…um… plan on sharing?" Armin asked, curious himself about the technological marvel.

The girl returned a cocky grin, saying "Nope!"

A few buildings away, Historia was excitedly explaining herself to both Representative Kelly, Commander Erwin, and General Connor.

"…which eventually led to them becoming a global superpower!" she concluded.

"You… certainly seem to be a fan of British History." Kelly said.

"I guess it's just interesting… we're a small island nation, they're a small island nation… that's why we need to build up a fleet once we fully reclaim the land beyond the walls. Which reminds me, have your teams found any resources we could trade for your services?"

General Connor nodded slowly.

"We've found several oil deposits in the mountains, actually… I think trade options would certainly open up with that. But, you need to understand, Rod is still technically in charge, and we can't _just_ depose him."

_I mean, we can… but not without pissing off a __**lot **__of people back home._

Erwin sighed, saying "That's true, installing you as queen suddenly and without warning would likely backfire. However, if Rod continues to push against bettering humanity… well, we'll need to take some drastic measures."

Historia winced.

"No worries, we have agents in the interior keeping an eye on things, and we have been planning on talking with the military leadership. If it comes down to it, can depose him without shedding any blood." Connor said quickly.

Historia nodded.

"Thank you, I… I really don't want this to turn violent."

"Neither do we, Historia… but we need to be certain you actually _want _to be queen."

The girl blinked then.

"It's necessary, is it not? I don't think I have much choice in the matter."

The three higher ups were unsure of what to say.

Technically, she wasn't incorrect.

In the event that deposing Rod became a necessity, they needed her to be queen, puppet or not, temporary or not.

However…

"Look, we want all solutions on the table. If Rod can see our reasons, maybe he'll be more willing to cooperate, if not, we can depose him peacefully, release all the information he doesn't want out, and let the people decide what they want to do. We have our own set of rules to abide by, after all, and we can't just break them without good reason… so, you work on your proposals for the eventual negotiations we'll have with your father, we'll work on figuring out a solution and understanding Eren and Ymir."

The girl nodded then.

"As for building shipyards… I think we can help with that."

_For the right price, of course…_

…

"Alright, cadets, you are in the Military Police now. I know you've probably heard its easy going and relatively safe, but the situation has changed ever since these people from beyond appeared." Ian shouted at the newest regiment of Military Police.

The recently graduated cadets were clearly children.

Skilled children, certainly.

Children that could likely fire a rifle with some degree of accuracy and slay titans if put in the position with nothing more than their ODM gear, and lead if asked...

But children nonetheless.

His eyes glanced at a girl with light, almost gray, blonde hair.

Her eyes followed him as he walked from one end of the lined up MPs to the next, and he didn't particularly take kindly to that.

He approached her directly, saying "What is your name, cadet?"

The girl's smile widened, theatrically saying "Private Hitch Dreyse, sir! Happy to serve!"

Ian glanced at her thin frame with mild disgust.

_**This **__girl made it to the top ten?!_

Odd given that any of the Americans could simply pick her up and she would be unable to do much of anything as she was tossed aside.

He crossed his arms, somehow managed to narrow his eyes further, and spoke, as loudly as his vocal cords would allow.

"In the event of an American invasion, private Hitch Dreyse, how would you defend the capital?!"

The girl, much to his annoyance, simply waved her hand noncommittally and said "Easy, I wouldn't! They would never invade the capital due to the alliance they have with us."

Ian shut his eyes tightly and sucked in a breath.

_Wait, that wasn't a trick question?_

The girl realized her folly and quickly began to backtrack.

"Uh… o-of course, in the hypothetical case of an American invasion, um…"

For the first time since arriving, her eyes widened as she found herself unsure of what the answer her commanding officer wanted was.

_Try to attack with ODM gear? No, American tanks are completely invulnerable to blades if the information I read is true… try to shoot them as they come through the entrance? Doubtful as the tanks are impervious to any of our muskets… set up large canons on the entrance and fire when they try driving in? Wait, no… flying machines… what does he want me to say?_

Ian simply scoffed and began walking away before she could really say anything.

He stared at the cadets for a moment, contemplating each of them individually.

"Your duty is to protect the king, simple as that. We are outclassed if the Americans arrive to force out our king, but we are not helpless! The Americans are clearly soft hearted, they prioritize keeping soldiers alive, not winning the battle, kill enough of them, they will surely run away."

Hitch was unsure if that logic was sound as it assumed their canons could destroy American armored vehicles, but it wasn't entirely without logic.

After all, human instinct was to run away from the thing killing your friends, not charge right at it.

_Except the "kill enough of them" part is much easier for the Americans in theory…_

A cadet raised his hand.

All eyes turned to a young man with dark hair in a bowl cut.

"Sir, with all due respect, our duty is to uphold the law, not prepare for a war against the people helping us." The cadet said simply.

Marlowe Freudenberg was by all accounts, an idealist.

The kind of guy who loved going on about the "duty of the military police" and how it was his job to "ensure the laws of the land were followed by everyone, Military Police included."

_The kind of guy who values the ideal over the king… _

Ian gave him a nasty glare before angrily asking "What's your name private?"

"Marlowe Freudenberg."

Ian nodded, calmly approached him and looked him in the eyes before asking "How many laws have the Americans broken just by being here?"

Marlow shrugged.

_That's what I thought…_

"Now… let's be fair here, I know they are still technically new to this world, but they are the only threat bigger than the titans! Freudenberg, if they decided to attack the capital this very week, what would you do?"

The boy straightened and said "I like to think I would defend it with my life, sir!"

Ian didn't smile, simply turning away and saying "You lot have heard the recent news, we are to have a trial here very soon. The Americans will escort possible traitors to the capital, and we need a force of young, recently graduated cadets, to escort them on their way."

A murmur spread through the lines before Ian concluded, loudly declaring "Dedicate your hearts to his majesty, and prepare yourselves to head out! Dismissed!"

Ian watched the cadets walk away and begin to move towards the main headquarters, ready for the day's orders.

"Marlowe… what was that?" Hitch asked.

The boy shook his head.

"The MPs are already extremely corrupt, Hitch. I signed up to help straighten them out, not fight against those helping us."

The girl shrugged saying "No matter, we would never fight the Americans at the end of the day. Why would we? I bet this guy is just a bit paranoid, that's all."

…

Dot Pyxis watched the efforts of the large American helicopters as they began to simultaneously lift higher into the air, the heavy chains holding on to the large rock from the Trost district.

The Chinooks had been designed for such tasks, airlifting heavy artillery, tanks, supplies, and even rocks to disaster zones when needed. Now, instead of simply fixing the entrance to Shiganshina, the Americans were planning on blocking it entirely.

However…

"So… Lieutenant Troy, is it?"

The young American officer nodded as he watched the German engineers give directions from the ground as the Chinooks began to lift the natural wonder.

"I know you Americans have several secrets over there, but… is it true that there hasn't been a titan encountered in the past two weeks?"

Troy opened his mouth, but stayed silent.

"I'm a curious person you know… to an extent not comparable to Erwin, but curious regardless…"

"It's… complicated." the American sighed.

"Oh, most things are… your leaders haven't made it publicly known that the land beyond the walls is-"

"No, the plan is to reveal it during the trial later this week… as long as _that _doesn't collapse into itself."

Pyxis chuckled, grabbing his flask and enjoying the excellent wine.

"The so called true king has been relatively silent this past week, as well… Honestly, if you boys need some assistance or support, count on me."

"…it isn't so simple, Commander."

"Sure it isn't! But to me, you people have been doing more to help our people than the king and his advisory for the last decade! Premiere Zachary agrees."

Troy glanced at Pyxis with an unreadable expression before offering a polite smile.

Then he asked "Okay, what if I told you we were doing this for our own benefit?"

"You aren't doing this for your own benefit?"

Troy shrugged, saying "Nobody really knows what our leaders back home actually think, but let's be honest, if we didn't have something to gain I doubt we would be doing much more than the bare minimum to help you."

"Ah, you wonder if a good action can still be classified as good if the motivation behind it is selfish."

"You could say that."

"Well, look at Commander Erwin. Seems like a decent fellow, doesn't he?"

Troy said nothing, eyeing the Chinooks as they carried the gigantic rock away.

"There isn't a doubt in my mind he has his own motivations, everyone does to some extent. Sure, if your mother cried for help odds are you would help her no questions asked. People can be selfish and selfless all at once, you know. I, for example, work much, much better when I have some good old fashioned alcohol in my veins."

Troy stared at the already empty flask and said "That can kill you, you know."

"Bah, don't talk like that! Already get enough of an earful from Anka, I don't need some people from some great beyond I've never seen before lecturing me about- uh… where did my-?"

The old man searched his coat for his second flask, unable to find it.

"Commander, it is too early or that. You aren't as young as you used to be…" Anka said, placing the second flask inside a bag she was carrying before walking away.

Troy held in a grin.

"Well, guess I won't be able to finish all the reports due today without my second liter of wine… anyway, the point is, while motivations matter, the results are more important. Erwin was barely holding on to his position as Commander given how many kids he was losing. You people may have selfish goals, but if the rest of the world wants us dead… well, I believe we can tolerate your selfishness if it means you'll still help us."

"Well, that's one way to look at it… Commander, duty calls. I have to head back to Shiganshina, get the cadets ready to escort Yeager and the others to the interior."

"Speaking of, how is that Yeager boy doing?"

Troy said "You would have to ask Erwin or the guys at Hill Zero One. I think they were testing how long both he and Ymir can stay in titan form, though."

"Oh… do they have a record or a time limit?"

…

"Good God, I think I'm gonna vomit!" Matt whispered to no one other than himself.

The image in front of him was one out of a horror movie.

Eren Yeager was being dragged from the body of his titan form, flesh and nerves visibly still connecting his face to the nape he had just been dragged away from.

His face, its skin and most of its muscles, were gone, exposing bone and an elongated tongue that was only made more disturbing as the bizarre string of flesh and pulsating nerves that remained connected to the nape.

"Ooh, incredible- hey-hey, Moblit! Tell the doctor to bring the camera up close!"

The young man simply muttered something about the girl not having any sense of mercy before pushing the camera closer to the mess of body horror that was Eren Yeager.

"Oh! Okay, stay calm, we won't let anything happen to him, just relax!" Jake said, trying his hardest to hold Mikasa back.

They were fairly close to the titan carcass when it simply freaked out and collapsed on its own, Hanji and Moblit digging Eren out completely.

Mikasa had, of course, insisted in helping, but given that she could easily become a liability, all the team was letting her do was observe.

From a distance… a fair distance.

And without any ODM gear.

Despite the previous injuries, the girl was had proven herself strong enough to drop the taller Jake if the soldier wasn't careful.

_And now that she was healed…_

"They aren't going to let anything happen to him, could you _stop?!_"

The girl reluctantly quit struggling and Jake let her go.

"Alright… carefully now…" Doctor Hermann said, making an incision as he began cutting the strange flesh that wasn't evaporating.

"This is clearly problematic if we want to convince the king he will be an asset." Moblit mumbled.

"The king already wants him and the others dead; I just hope we can convince him to not throw a fit when the Americans tell him they won't hand him over. We can just show him the footage of him building a house, I suppose." Hanji replied courtly.

Herman said "We are scientists, Miss Hanji, we cannot censor our results just to please a king that may not even cooperate if you hand all the shifters over."

The Scout nodded, saying "I suppose, but still… I don't see this making anyone comfortable with the idea of titan shifters."

Once freed, Eren was put on a stretcher and sent to the medical bay, Mikasa quickly catching up to him.

"It's pretty disturbing. What do you think it takes to knock them down permanently?" Dave asked.

"Destroying the brain, obviously. Or removing the head." Jake stated.

Matt said nothing.

"My worry has more to do with the so called Marlean Empire. Sort of a circle of abuse like Jews and Arabs, right? No easy good guys or bad guys?"

The group remained in silence for a moment before Jake spoke up.

"Not exactly… this true king apparently did something to the memories of those living here, yeah?"

"I think?"

"Then he's the bad guy."

"Not so simple." Ilse sighed.

The Army guys turned to her.

"Something to do with world peace or keeping the peace… guilt over past actions… the more you read about it the harsher and more complicated it gets. It's like… it would be like the US deciding all whites should move to Manhattan and leave the continent to the non-whites because of past mistreatments right after the Civil War, only arguably worse as I doubt even the cruelest slave owner devoured his slaves."

"You'd be surprised."

"…I worry you guys might have to pull out if things get too hot over here." Ilse sighed.

Silence reigned once more, as uncertainty grew.

"…this is supposed to be the point you tell me I'm wrong." she said after a moment.

"We're not fortune tellers, Ilse. Hell, pulling out isn't that unlikely if things get bad." Matt sighed.

"What? But you-"

"I don't like it either, but people back home are under the impression that we're doing good here, they're tired of hearing about civilian deaths thanks to one of our air strikes, they're tired of hearing about how long we've been at war. For once they get to listen to some good news about the military, for once, it seems like we're actually helping out, and if it suddenly comes to light that continuing to help you would put us at war with an entire planet… Yeah, I might order a withdrawal or anything that would keep the peace."

"But- but the rest of the world wants us dead!"

"Ilse, you read about World War 2- we could have done a _lot _more to help the people imprisoned in the Concentration Camps."

"That was different! A lot of the Generals didn't believe or know-"

"Even then our higher ups knew! And okay, let's say you're right, and we didn't do more because we weren't aware… we did _nothing _to stop or even end the Ugandan Genocide, when we went to give humanitarian aid to Somalia in the 1990s, we pulled out after a single battle with a warlord… Ilse, our country has been at war for most of its existence, a lot of us are _tired_ of it."

Silence.

"Well God damn, Matt. I didn't know you were such a communist. Gonna whine about income inequality next?" Jake mumbled.

"I'm not commie, Income Inequality is proof everyone has a fair shot at making a lot of money, and I'd hate to leave this place to die… but you have to face the facts… Americans don't want a war and my opinion on the subject is irrelevant, same as yours. Ultimately, it ain't up to any of us."

Ilse frowned before scoffing.

"Well… war might be the _only _solution we have to the Marley question… they've been terrorizing us for a century, using our own people to tear us apart, limb from limb, literally eaten alive… How can you possibly solve this without going to war, and making them fall to their knees?! What other solution is there?!" the girl seemed to demand, suddenly very frustrated with the subject.

Memories of her comrades being devoured alive as all she could do was watch flooded, and she had to shut her eyes.

Matt let out a tired sigh.

"I don't know… maybe shock and awe? Force them to negotiate by showing we can destroy them at any second?"

"Well, it's not up to _you_, is it?"

Matt eyed the young girl with an unreadable expression.

"They say the truth will set you free, but if you ask me, it all depends." Dave said after a second.

"No one asked you." the others said in unison.

"No one said I was wrong, either."

"Dude, if you aren't going to add anything to the conversation can you at least keep your mouth shut?"

"Matt, I'm _agreeing_ with you! At the end of the day, the truth is that the American people have to back the president should he declare war, or else he can't get much done."

"Whatever… let's just focus on the here and now… What's the plan for this trial on the shifters?" Ilse asked, promptly changing the subject.

…

If anyone were to say Washington DC had never been so politically hostile before the 21st century, people would probably agree while historians groaned in annoyance.

Things in the American capital were, of course, not as great as they could be, but they weren't anywhere near the hostilities seen before the Civil War. It wasn't even as chaotic as the early 1960s, where the world came to the brink of nuclear annihilation twice during a single presidency.

And yet somehow, despite nuclear war becoming almost impossible as both the United States and The Russian Federation had a relatively stable peace, and the planet itself was undergoing a period of peace the likes of which had never been seen before in human history, for many citizens in the United States, everything felt just as tense and frustrating as they had during the uneasy years of the Cold War.

The American president rubbed his temple as he exited the presidential limo, doing his best not to scream.

His vice president walked up next to him, just as the man began his rant.

"You would think they would be more interested in keeping Russia out of the Middle East, but _no_! Mike, you understand these people better than I do, what do they _want_?"

The vice president would have said something, but by now he knew the commander in chief wanted to vent, not so much be told what to do.

"I mean, okay, they _don't_ want us getting involved in the Middle East, alright, simple enough… until some dictator uses WMDs to take out terrorists. Suddenly, it's our duty to remind everyone who's in charge, so we do- and then it's our fault for being too aggressive? What, did they want me to just wave my finger and remind him that chemical warfare is against the Geneva Convention?"

_He wants to vent, not to be told what to do…_

"Now they complain about me not being aggressive _enough_… what does that even mean? We have Special Forces on the ground, ISIS is basically gone, and it's time for the people to decide for themselves, right? Right? How is that a sign of weakness?"

_Vent… not be told what to do, vent…_

"Honestly, if the negotiations go through properly, I would be perfectly fine with pulling all our troops out of the Middle East… but _no!_ Suddenly pulling out our troops means that I want to annex the land across the gate! But I can't reinforce our troops in Afghanistan either because _that_ would be escalation."

_Technically you can, Commander in Chief…_

"I mean, I could… But it would just add fuel to their fire and not the good kind… honestly; it feels like the world is out to get me sometimes."

"Well, given the information regarding Eldia and Marley… we may need congress on our good side… what little of that exists right now." the Vice President said after a second.

"And _that's _the kicker! God only knows what goes on over there, even the information from the self-proclaimed Warriors might be outdated! For all we know, there could be other shifters already within the walls, waiting to strike or spying on us, ready to get information back home. But I can't just send more troops in without all this… crap…"

The vice president nodded slowly as the two entered the oval office, a secretary had already beat them there and was standing at attention while holding several papers on hand.

"The Army already sent several Strykers across, did I forget something?" the president asked as he took the papers, reason for them forgotten after such a frustrating meeting.

He read them quickly before saying "I suppose we could send some A-10s, get some MLRS batteries across… shock and awe?"

"Shock and awe, mister president, we can at least show off the strykers when they go through to Wall Sina later this month, maybe get the MLRS to fire a few salvos… show the interior what we can do. Maybe intimidate them into easing tensions."

The president stared at the requests.

_This is a lot more than simple Shock and Awe…_

"Let's try to be fair here, if an alien force came here demanding we strip away half our constitutional rights, we would be up in arms immediately. I would like to at least try to make them see things our way before actually playing more intimidation games."

"With all due respect, sir, the king and his advisory have been overly demanding of updates on the Shifter situation all while ignoring the fact that the rest of the world wants them dead! We halted the titan capturing efforts, so Wall Maria still has about a dozen or so titans scattered around, so any resettlement program planned for this month is _also_ in the backburner, the lack of communication has made it impossible to discern the exact situation within the underground district, and we haven't even been able to locate the port the shifters described by our prisoners, yet they're acting as if _all_ of this isn't a problem. We may need to remind them that we are not subordinate to them."

"I _know_ that, but congress is on my ass about not showing aggression and even if we are provoked we are expected to show restraint!"

_Restraint! Against a force that may want us dead…_

"As it is, I am going to approve this… err… hold on… General Connor wants-?"

The final request made the president physically wince.

"Purely for emergency situations, such as a Marlean invasion. It could be used without inflicting losses. Once we get AC-130s in there, we can use it, but it wouldn't hurt to hadn them one or two early, just in case."

"Will it even work without GPS?"

"We thought about that, and we can modify a couple to give them self-adjusting flaps that keep the GBU from straying off course."

_Definitely shock and awe…_

"Alright… I'll approve it as well. Give our boys what they need… on another note, how is our little joint team doing?"

"They believe the heads of the organized anti-personnel unit have been decapitated, so the king probably can't strike effectively."

The Vice President turned and asked "Decapitated?"

…

Crow dropped the steaming plate of soup on the wooden table in the basement of the home they were occupying.

The CIA woman was sitting on the edge of the table, never breaking eye contact from the two men tied and gagged by the corners of the relatively small basement.

She had an eerily childlike look of wonder as she stared at the captured men. It reminded him of something from back home.

_A cat, playing with a mouse…_

"Ah, thank you, Crow, smells divine… do me a favor and remove the gag from this guy."

The SAS officer nodded and did just that, more than aware of what he could expect once the gag came off.

Sannes began screaming for help at the top of his lungs.

Same as always…

"_**I'm here! Somebody help me! They have me tied up! Help!**_"

Usually they would gag him up again, no need to have him draw more attention to them, but today was different.

"No one is coming, sir. Now take it easy on those lungs and let me give you something to eat, we want you to stay alive after all."

Sannes stopped to glare at the woman.

"Oh, glare at me all you want, it changes nothing… you ever had tomato soup? Not my favorite, but if you add some onions-"

"Release me or kill me, demon! I intend to waste no time with this-"

"Blah blah blah, demon, blah blah blah, devil, blah blah blah… honestly, get some better insults. Now… soup?"

Sannes demanded "Explain why you captured us! What do you want?! Do you want us dead?!"

"Hush, we have no intention on killing you or ending your miserable existence." the woman said, coming off more bored than anything.

Silence for a moment.

Then Sannes said "If you wish to use us in your subversive deeds know that we will resist."

Silence for a moment.

Then the CIA woman said "Honest question… do you really believe stagnating technological development is making things better?"

Sannes said "Ours is a necessary evil. Unlike _you_ who have no need for such actions, we-"

The woman began to laugh dryly.

"No need for such actions? Whoo! That's hilarious, I'm not gonna lie."

She stood up from the table and approached Sannes, getting uncomfortably close to the zip tied old man.

"I'm not about to say we're angels, or always doing good… but you have no idea how bad it can get over on our side. Believe me, we _know_ necessary evil, and you're not it."

"_Your_ side? You godless people have no way of knowing how we live! Your world is interconnected! You share information with an ease and technology I _still_ cannot imagine, do not claim to understand how important and crucial our role is in keeping order within the walls!"

"No, you don't understand anything." she sighed, standing up and walking out of the basement, taking her soup and leaving Sannes to Crow.

Crow didn't really say anything, but did begin to whistle _God Save the Queen._

"…is this where you start making demands?" Sannes asked.

The whistling stopped.

"Oh, you would know about that, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, we do things a little differently. We have rules to upkeep believe it or not."

"No you don't."

Crow grinned.

"You're right, we _don't_. None of the people that tell us what to do are here, we could easily tear out your vocal cords, patch you back up and make it look like your buddy over there did it, show the people who the _real_ heroes are. Maybe break your hands just properly so that you can't even write down what really happened. No witnesses to deny the story either, so… where would that leave you?"

Sannes winced as the threat began to sink in.

"What?" he breathed.

"Don't like that one, huh? How about poisoning the king and making this Historia girl the new ruler? She is _very _sympathetic to our cause from what I hear. Make you look like the aggressor by showing all the records you have kept of your adventures in keeping everyone here in the dark ages."

Sannes growled "The true king will stop you."

"Yeah? How's he gonna do that?"

"Our king will stop you with means you cannot even imagine!"

Before Crow could reply, the CIA woman walked downstairs again, a laptop in hand.

"What was the last thing he said?" she asked.

"Says the true king will stop us with means we cannot even imagine." he replied.

"Did he now? How _would_ he do that?" she asked, placing the solar powered laptop on the table, logging on.

Crow shrugged, the woman continued.

"Ways we can't even imagine, he says… is that right, ye old coot?" she asked, feigning an English accent.

Sannes didn't reply, glaring at the woman.

"Maybe he will sick his little anti-personnel regiments on our soldiers?" she suggested, pressing a button.

The recognizable voice of Rod Reiss came over the computer speakers.

"_Ian has control of Deltoffe's unit, as well as the new MP recruits. If the Americans try something, he will lead the charge."_

"H-how did you-?"

"We're two hundred years ahead of you technologically; being able to listen in on other rooms really shouldn't surprise you."

"What we do is for the greater good! You would never understand what we have to do to keep order for mankind!"

The woman was silent, gone was the cocky grin and playful look in her blue eyes.

She looked at the older man with a cold, calculating glance, before simply standing up to look down on him.

She scoffed bitterly.

"Oh, please, you killed people that were making better weapons, had discovered means of flight, or simply knew that the king was lying about _something. _You're amateurs, nothing but foot soldiers killing because your king tells you to. What's worse, you seem to actually _believe _him when he tells you this is for the greater good. You would be better off facing the giants beyond the walls than facing us."

"Belief?!"

"Tell me the rationality behind keeping life in this hell hole from advancing technologically if it's actually necessary."

"New technology would endanger the king!"

"It could also save the king."

"We didn't go after doctors or the people working on better medicine!"

"Oh yes you did, you just killed them whenever they stepped out of line. But I was talking about other advances. Like the ones making better weapons that could have benefited you in a war against us, same for the prostitutes that knew too much, they make excellent spies, same for _anyone_ your king told you was a threat without stopping for a half second to wonder why. God damn _amateurs_…"

"And yet you blame it on my belief in the king- the belief that I have done good?! As if you were any different!"

She returned a mocking smile.

"Oh, maybe in principle… we once deposed an elected leader and installed a military dictator, all because the _other_ guy didn't want to trade with us anymore… hell, we tore the fabric of an entire _continent_ apart just to avoid giving our enemies any foothold on the nations south of us. Being a superpower isn't clean or easy, Djel, we know _damn well_ how dirty the job can get to keep order. You just suck at it."

"And you do it because you believe it is good. Just like me, hypocrite that you are!"

The woman scoffed.

"God damn amateurs." she mumbled.

Sannes looked confused.

"The world is cruel, we can all agree on that, everyone tries to make things work, we do it so that our people don't find themselves getting bombed like our enemies. Hell, say what you will, we've helped our people to one extent or the other more than once. What baffles me is… What exactly do you people get out of you worshipping this founder?"

Sannes winced before angrily speaking up.

"Order and safety! He is the founder, creator, and protector of mankind! We dirty our hands to preserve the _order_ he had created in order to thank him for granting us such blessings! Surely, you and your people aren't so different!"

"Yeah, you say that… but not only do we have it better than you, our actions actually benefit our people in ways other than providing safety and order. Matter of fact, since we don't kill them for innovating, we have cures for diseases don't even know exist. Why is that?"

Sannes glared at her.

"Again, it baffles me… here we show up with literal centuries worth of scientific and technological advances, and yet your self-proclaimed god not only refuses us, but doesn't even bother to take the credit for opening the door to us? Hell, that priest seemed to actually believe the walls blessed his people with our arrival… and yet you people are just… out to get rid of us because we disrupt the order of things?"

"You would do the same if this happened to-"

"No, that's not it. You aren't thinking long term or even short term. From what I gather, tehse actions are almost final. You destroy new technology, you kill those that know about it without bothering to keep a record of what they actually knew… do you people _want _to go extinct?"

Silence.

"He that kills with a sword must be killed with a sword, Sannes. Do you want that?"

"That statement is far more appropriate for what you will go through than you can imagine."

The woman huffed before heading upstairs.

Crow shrugged before leaving the men tied up, neither of them had actually said much.

He found the woman next to one of the Delta operatives, monitoring the royal meeting chambers.

"Kenny really has helped us out with those, huh?"

The woman said nothing.

"Anything on your mind?"

She frowned.

Silently, she walked over to look at the window.

The CIA had done plenty of bad things in its relatively short history. She wasn't lying about tearing the fabric of an entire continent apart just to avoid losing ground during the Cold War, and it would be a lie to say they hadn't gone around the Constitution to achieve certain goals, noble ones or not.

But there had always been a set goal in mind, be it maintaining the status quo in a small South American nation, or learn what effects an experimental medication might have on regular people, there would always be _some _benefit to gain from their actions, heinous or otherwise.

But the Interior Police wasn't like that at all.

Kenny seemed to be the only commanding officer with enough common sense to try and make some gains through the MPs. All the other ones they had looked into appeared to have an unquestioning loyalty to _The Founder _and only that.

_Hell, even Pastor Nick seems to be more of a free thinker than them…_

She wondered if the goal of the King was to destroy those living within the walls, knowing the land beyond wasn't overrun by giants.

It couldn't be indifference, an indifferent person does not order death squads to destroy most of the new technological information they got their hands on.

She put her hand on the window and looked outside.

The ancient looking medieval city appeared beautiful in the sun.

_This isn't Iraq or Afghanistan… _

With a frustrated sigh, she turned back to Crow and said "Not really… any intel on the new captain of the MPs?"

"Yeah, the Ian kid… Kenny believes he's just acting captain until Sannes is found. We _really_ threw a wrench in Rod's plan when we took his closest leader."

The woman nodded.

"Well, at least that's some good news. When exactly is the trial? I want to expose these guys already."

…

"Fire!" Nile Dawk said, eyeing the fine line of recently graduated Military Police officers.

The new MPs fired a volley of what the people from across the gate might have once referred to as "miniballs" into a field of enemy targets.

In this case, the assailants were several sacks of hay that had been impaled on stakes, with a few having had crude faces drawn on them.

The inanimate sacks stood no chance.

Granted none of them stood a chance against a wall of riflemen, but it if this was a charging force, armored or not… well, Nile Dawk knew they could inflict some damage.

"Good aim, now grab some ammo, reload, and form up again, we may be employing similar tactics in the future and you must all be ready to combat an enemy that may be human in origin." he shouted as the kids under his brief watch quickly moved to reload, more than willing to give their all in the eyes of the Commander of the Military Police.

Nile however, worried about the children.

They were optimistic, morale was high with the defeat of the titans both within Wall Maria and Shiganshina, yet he knew something they didn't.

_The king isnt who he says he is, and I doubt he is ordering this training just for efficiency's sake._

"Oh, commander, thank you for taking over… I see they are doing quite well." Ian said, approaching on horseback, two older men flanking him.

Nile nodded at the young member of the Interior Police, one now in charge of training these cadets on killing, not titans, but humans.

But only if the need arose, of course.

"So, kid… what exactly… what's that?" Nile asked, noticing the parchment on the young man's arm.

Ian sighed, before speaking.

"The king would like you to take this letter to Commander Erwin and the Americans. They are both studying the shifter titans, and his Majesty would like for them to move the trial up already. These publications that make the Yeager boy and the Ymir girl appear heroic are… troublesome."

Normally one to argue, Nile simply nodded and took the parchment.

"I'll make sure Erwin gets it and bring back word."

"Of course… be careful with the Americans, they are a sneaky bunch…"

Nile nodded.

No need to argue with someone who worked directly with the king.

At least finally, it seemed like negotiations were underway, and all the training of fighting humans could be put to rest. But he had to admit, he wasn't exactly certain about it all.

As if to punctuate the tension in the air, he heard dozens of musket hammer click into place at the same time, weapon ready to fire at his command.

…

"What do you mean _not yet_?!" Rod demanded as the light coming from the setting sun behind the window gave the room a hellish red glow.

Ian was about to speak up when Rod took the letter on his hand, quickly beginning to read it aloud.

"Estimated King- blah-blah-blah… we are currently undergoing psychological evaluations…" Rod stopped reading and sat down on his Throne.

"Your majesty?" Deltoffe asked.

"They… they're saying that while we are allowed to judge them here first, all the captured shifters are to be taken across the gate regardless of our decision."

"What madness is this?!" Aurille demanded, furious.

"It's how they _do_ things, fatass! Honestly, Aurille, are you out of it or something?" an irritated Kenny called from a corner.

Before the advisor could explain himself, Rod said "It make sense given what we know… the Americans have their rules and their rules stipulate they get to try their enemies, which in this case… I bet the shifters classify as their enemies after leading a titan incursion… damn it all." he sighed, feeling defeated.

"At least they gave us a date, your majesty."

Rod nodded, glancing at Kenny.

"Ackerman, any leads on our missing captain?"

"Well, I found a couple of bodies in somewhat decent conditions; similar height and build, but it's impossible to tell if they belong to Sannes and his men… if I was a group of bandits, I would have stolen their uniforms, dismantled them, and then burned the bodies, so… I'm looking into clothes being sold in the underground… so far nothing."

Rod nodded.

"Ian, that leaves you in charge of his unit until further notice."

The young man nodded.

"Then its settled. Send word to the Americans that they may have whatever concessions they want… we do not want a war, and if they feel like bringing in their cars and showing off the 104th, so be it. I have spoken."

Everyone stared at the king.

"Your majesty?" someone asked, probably Deltoffe, but Rod ignored them.

Ian said nothing and exited the room alongside the king.

Kenny was genuinely too stunned to speak.

He wondered, albeit for just a moment, if the king had more wisdom than he had taken him for.

A part of him suspected otherwise.

…

"The important thing is that everyone is on the same page. We cooperate with them, they cooperate with us… but we're ultimately in charge."

Colonel Parker nodded more to himself than anyone else, glancing out the window before turning back to the Radio and asking "Any word on what we're going to do about the giants within the walls themselves?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment before General Connor replied.

"As it stands, we can't really do much about it. Some of the engineers think it should be possible to eliminate a whole district without fully breaking down the entire structure, perhaps drilling into the nape from one angle; the means of accomplishing it however, are not exactly cheap. It's going to be a long term project."

"I see."

"Any titans encountered since yesterday?"

"No, sir… all quiet over here."

"I see, I see… that's good. You set on the shifters?"

"Joy is giving them a final checkup. Annie suggested we chop their limbs off, something about it ensuring they don't transform, but we're thinking of just sedating them."

"Jesus…"

"Yeah, no, I thought she was joking but… I think she was testing us. Trying to see if we'll go as far as some other nations from here, maybe check if we're different."

"Well, to be fair, we come from a world where the concept of people being used as living weapons isn't really a thing."

Parker nodded then asked "The king give an O-K on our plan?"

"According to the letter we just got, it seems like it. The plan's to bring the shifters over so that they can inspect them one on one, Hanji Zoe will tag along to answer any scientific questions they might come up with while we finish setting up our case over at Hill Zero One. If they still want to interrogate the three… _Warriors… _then he can request for a second trial where they will be present. We keep them the hell away from the capital for now, understood?"

"Yes, sir… How long are you planning on dragging the trial out?"

"Well, we want to throw everything out there, proof and all, make sure it's all out in the open so that we can actually begin negotiating."

Parker scoffed.

"I forget we've technically been negotiating with puppet rulers."

"Well, sort of. It's more like we've been negotiating without a full deck of cards, not knowing everything we needed, but now… now we can talk on somewhat even terms."

Parker nodded.

_I wonder why he nods so much when talking on the radio…_

Jean observed the Army colonel finish the conversation before turning to Marco.

"Any idea why Shadis asked us to come here?"

Before Marco could give his two cents, Parker turned to the two cadets.

"Spread the word, boys. The 104th is headed to the interior. Dismissed."

The two soldiers saluted and headed out.

Outside they were silent until Marco spoke up.

"Think they'll kill them?"

Jean huffed, saying "I don't really care if they do or don't. Those bastards killed so many people that death might be the only real way to bring them justice."

"I know, but… I don't think the Americans want to kill them."

Jean said nothing.

"Come on, man, I know you have an opinion."

"What the hell is it to you?" Jean replied in a tone that suggested irritation, but was not yet bordering on anger.

"Nothing, really… I just feel like you'd know what to do in this situation."

Jean huffed.

"Whatever, let's just break the news to the guys."

The boy's entire dorm was actually waiting for them, cadets and the few American guards standing right by the door.

Jean sighed before turning to Marco, about to ask if he could break the news, but chose against it.

_With Yeager in Hill Zero One, someone has to step up, even just a bit…_

"Right, so the Colonel and the Commandant have arranged for us to escort two of the shifters to the capital later this week-"

"Are they going to execute them?" Thomas asked.

"Yeager and Ymir? No, they are going to be judged, same as the other three, but even if they all get sentenced to death, the Americans are going to take full custody of them… so no, they won't be dying this week or this month."

"_**WHAT?!**_" several cadets exploded.

"But they killed so many people! I understand sparing Eren and even Ymir, they helped us, but the others?" Connie said.

"I had an uncle who got executed for stealing, yet they get away with killing a quarter of the population- how is that fair?!" Daz shouted back.

"Sit your asses down and listen up!" Jean shouted back.

The room went quiet.

"You don't have to like it… hell, if it were up to me I would probably feed them to some titans and then keep the new shifters as prisoners, but that would be revenge… if we want peace in this world then we need to learn to compromise. If it makes you feel any better, _they_ won't be free or even able to see sunlight for what's left of their lives."

Jean noted none of them had really referenced Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie by name since news broke.

Samuel said "Yeah, but they'll be alive, unlike those we lost."

"You'll at least know exactly where they are, so there won't be fear of another Colossal Titan or Armored Titan or whatever the hell Annie is attacking the wall."

Samuel nodded at that, realizing that it was somewhat satisfying knowing that the enemy was helpless and caught.

Thomas said "The same result can be achieved if they are dead."

"If they are dead then we can't use them to negotiate with the people beyond the walls, now can we?"

A wave of understanding washed over the cadets.

"Oh… they're being kept alive because of politics."

_And because they were underage when they did all this, but sure…_

…

"So, your blood pressure is fine, which is good, and I think the interrogators have everything they need…" Karina Joy said, signing some papers and handing them to Kyle as Annie stared at the medical staff.

"Uh… all in all, you're the picture of health. If the king decides he wants you three over there, then you're at least fit to travel."

"We won't be going to this trial?" Annie asked.

Joy scoffed, saying "Oh, yeah, put five titan shifters in the same spot within a heavily populated city for at least a week… _that _definitely won't invite any problems!"

Annie said nothing.

Kyle said "I heard brass is trying to push things so that we can finally begin moving towards negotiations with the rest of the world so that they don't try to… you know… destroy the island and its people."

Annie said "Easier said than done. You can't make thousand year grudges disappear."

Kyle said "Yeah, but that hasn't stopped Israel from existing."

Annie said nothing.

Joy said "Regardless, take it easy for now. Good behavior means you-"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Joy pursed her lips before gathering her things and exiting the underground dungeon the rest of her staff.

That just left the Warriors and the pair of US Marines keeping an eye on them.

Frowning, Annie let out a sigh and called out "Hey, dumbass, they tell you anything?"

She heard nothing from Reiner.

"Bertholdt?"

The other boy responded quickly, albeit with little care.

"They said we aren't going to be present in the trial itself. I don't know if I should be thankful for that or not."

Annie said "I just hope they find the port soon... the sooner they begin negotiating with Marley, the sooner we might get to go home."

_Might…_

She heard Bertholdt mutter something of an agreement, but remained silent otherwise.

Here in the darkness, the only comfort was that no one would see her break down as she cried like a child, hoping to see her father again.

…

Eren sat up and stretched.

"Very good, very good, Yeager. By all accounts, we can determine you pretty much a normal human being!" Doctor Hermann stated.

_At least I know that much…_

"So, the nobility can't claim otherwise?" he asked nervously.

"Not with this data. Even with the genetic mystery that allows your race to transform into giants; your bodies are all fundamentally human, and you are all capable of independent thought, complex thought… you are, by all accounts, human."

Eren nodded, feeling somewhat relieved he could scientifically back it up.

He headed out of the room and bumped into Ymir.

"Human?" he asked her.

"Just about, you?"

"Same… I guess we have to go face the king now, huh?"

The dark haired girl shrugged.

"After that, we'll have to face the enemies beyond the walls… um…"

Ymir turned to Eren with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, but I won't feel better unless I ask… do you remember anything about Marley from before coming here that might help in a military sense?"

She shrugged.

"Not really… you remember anything about your father?"

Eren shook his head.

"The pieces are all there… I know he took me aside to inject me with titan spinal fluid, but… how I became a shifter is still a mystery."

"Your dad was a shifter, too, right?"

"I guess he was… but he can't be alive anymore if he became a shifter before he met my mom."

"…I see."

Ymir didn't have the heart to suggest the boy might have devoured his father, that it was his father's intentions to have Eren inherit his power.

Not right now, at least.

She would bring it up after the trial.

"Eren."

The stoic voice of Mikasa came from the opposite end of the hall.

"Hey, we got you some breakfast!" Armin called.

Mikasa was, indeed, carrying some food on a tray.

"Thanks!" Eren said, taking an apple.

Ymir walked on until Armin turned to her.

"So… the 104th is coming along to escort us into Mistras." Armin said.

"…I see."

"And we're also getting an American Marine and Army escort… I don't know what demands the king will make, but if he thinks he can get away with stealing our freedom… " Eren said, a darkness in his eyes.

Mikasa smiled slightly, knowing that, for once, Eren would be in safe hands.

She would be tagging along, making sure of it.

Eren (and Ymir) was not going to have a finger laid on him without her approval.

"That's great, but what about Historia?"

"I'll be coming along with you guys, of course."

The four cadets turned to their comrade of royal lineage.

She was still dressed in the 104th uniform, albeit the formal one most commanders often wore in meetings.

"Is… is that a good idea?" Eren asked.

Historia struck a dignified pose and said "We all need to be on the same side now. Whatever rules the old founder placed to protect us no longer apply when we have enemies actively trying to kill us all. As queen, I vow to use very resource at my disposal to ensure the continued propel- pros- damn it all!"

"Uh, what was _that?_" Ymir asked, stifling a laugh better than the others.

"I was reading about the British, got an idea to… it doesn't matter. The point is, we can't just let my father continue to enforce laws that will actively push our own destruction. I want to convince him of that. If we can't, then…"

"Right… well, we'll back you up every step of the way… anyway, apple?"

Eren glanced at his hand, realizing the apple he was about to bite into wasn't here anymore, but didn't say anything about it.

Just outside the medical ward, Matt jogged down the neatly paved road.

Electric guitar riffs from an independent rock band echoed into his ear from the ear buds connected to his cell phone.

He stopped to drink some water, glancing at the brand new additions from the air force.

Four A-10 Warthogs.

America's response to the idea of mass Russian tank charges, an infantryman's best friend, and a durable piece of military hardware, partly because the Air Force was too stubborn to give them up, and partly because so far, no replacement could come close.

_I wonder how it will fare with the F-35 in terms of close air support…_

"Ilse says those belong to the Air Force… that true?"

Matt shut off his music and turned to see a not yet in uniform Petra Ral, holding a cup of what he could assume was coffee.

"Yeah, funny story, the Air Force has wanted to faze them out for a while now, but they also don't want to sell them to us in the Army or the Marines, plus they can't come up with a better model, so they just keep it while the higher ups grumble and complain about it. I guess these guys are the first Air Force guys to cross the gate."

Petra nodded, not really laughing.

"You guys tagging along?"

She nodded slowly.

"I hear there will be a drone keeping an eye on us, but since we can move from roof to roof easier that you guys, we'll be giving you some additional cover."

Matt nodded, saying "Well, much appreciated."

The chestnut haired girl smiled slightly, saying "You know, I think this is the most I have ever heard you speak."

"I try not to stress my vocal cords too much."

Petra narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, and between you and me… it's easier to look smart if you don't speak a lot. The less you speak, the less stupid things come out of your mouth."

"Ah…"

The two soldiers observed the aircraft in the morning sun.

Petra said "You know… this really feels like it's the final stretch."

"How so?"

"Either the king and the military come to an agreement or… one has to go. I couldn't imagine the Survey Corps experiencing so much change a few months ago, but now we… we really _are_ going to change things for the better."

Matt nodded.

"What?"

"What?"

"You just nodded."

"Yeah?"

"Like you were talking to a child."

"…how old are you?"

"Irrelevant, and don't change the subject. What's the matter?"

Matt turned back to the A-10s. The planes were originally developed and tested in the final days of the Vietnam War.

_Pulling out isn't that unlikely if things get bad…_

"Just worried, I guess."

Petra winced, only saying "Huh?"

"I want things to go over smoothly, no need for a bloodbath, you know?"

Petra frowned slightly, saying "Well, no one wants a fight, but… sometimes it's the only way forward."

"Yeah…"

"But, if it makes you feel any better, I think a fight is unlikely, at least… with the king. He was very cooperative with the requests sent by the higher ups."

Matt simply nodded.

Before Petra could say anything, several trucks began to arrive.

"Ah, the 104th is here… I better go get ready. Good talk, guy with weak vocal cords."

Matt simply waved goodbye.

…

Ryan had a Boonie hat covering his face as he slept inside the _Harvester._

He was supposed to be cleaning the inside of the tank, which he had, but without the Switch, and with the rest of his crew doing their own thing, he decided to just sleep a bit.

At least, he _was_ until he heard thumping coming from the outside of the tank.

He frowned, took off his hat and began to sit up, ready to lift up the driver's hatch, when a familiar voice came from outside.

"Hey, tanker! I know you're in there!" Ymir shouted.

Ryan considered his options.

He could just close the hatch and leave her outside.

Her titan form wasn't anywhere near as large or physically powerful as Yeager's form, sure it could certainly wreck a tank, but what would that get her? He could avoid her easily enough.

Then again, maybe he could demand his Switch back.

"I'm up, you can climb in through the top."

He smirked, knowing most people weren't very sure how to climb a tank when it came down to it.

He heard a _thump_ and was surprised when her head peered in through the hatch above him.

She looked around, curiously, eyes stopping on the poster of a certain famous woman.

"That a picture of your wife or something?" she asked, looking kind of disappointed with the soldier.

"That's, uh… that's the First Lady."

Ymir thought about the term for a moment before saying "Oh, she's married to the president?"

Ryan nodded lazily, asking "So what do you want, kid?"

Ymir handed him his Switch.

"You done with it?"

She scoffed, saying "No, but I finally figured out how to play enough of your game to teach Historia. When we get back, I _will_ be asking for it."

"Uh huh?"

"Yes. I would keep it but I don't want the extra weight. You tankers aren't coming, right?"

"No, not this time." he replied.

For the city, the main vehicles escorting them would be less intimidating than the M1 Abrams, although odds were they would be intimidating regardless.

Ymir nodded, saying "Good, don't break it."

"…good?"

"I don't need you distracting Historia. Today will be a big day for her, and she needs to focus, and if she needs to focus then I need to focus on her!"

Ryan, tired of dancing around the subject finally asked "Okay, seriously, what is she to you?"

Ymir only grinned before saying "Don't break it, tank-boy!" and hopping off the tank, running off to catch up to her regiment.

…

"Jean, you look miserable as usual."

"Glad our doctors cutting you open didn't kill you, Yeager. Move it."

"Honestly, maybe the two of you should get a room if you're so obsessed with each other." Jake groaned as he walked past them, moving to his Humvee.

Jean and Eren simply went silent, prompting Ymir to chuckle.

Historia walked over to the Stryker, Sasha hot on her heels.

"And make bread free! And make exotic foods cheap! And-"

"Sasha, please, I may not even be queen yet. Thanks for the distraction, though." the blonde sighed.

Sasha managed to say "Distraction?" before Mina pulled her away somewhere.

Jean turned to Historia and began to say "Do we address you as-?"

"Historia is _fine. _I just want to get this over with."

A pause.

"Maybe get inside the APC then?"

"I can't do this!"

Before anyone could speak up or try to calm Historia down, another spoke up.

"Okay." Ymir said.

"Huh?"

"You make your choice, Historia. I'll back you up."

The blonde stared at her friend for a moment before a voice cut in.

"Alright, 104th, let's get moving!" Shadis shouted as the cadets finished packing their equipment up.

Historia sighed, and climbed into the Stryker, albeit reluctantly.

Ymir simled.

_You know, I don't think the old you was all that fake…_

"So, Eren, how do you thinkt he public will react to your not being fully human?" Connie called in a joking manner as he hopped onto a separate truck.

Eren let out an exasperated sigh before hopping into the Army Stryker, sitting across from Ymir and Historia, Shadis.

"We'll be in the next vehicle, okay? If anything happens come find me." Mikasa said.

Eren pushed down the urge to snap at her for being too maternal, and simply nodded.

_8 years…_

He simply nodded a second time, just to himself, pushing the thought of his mortality aside for later.

With that, the cadets headed to the capital.

…

Hitch excitedly looked through the spyglass.

"You haven't seen their machines yet?" Marlow asked her.

She shook her head.

"Just some drawings. I was too busy training with my regiment to make the top 10… man, I can't believe we get to work so close with these other soldiers this time around."

Marlowe only nodded.

There was a large enough crowds, curious to see the otherworldly vehicles that hadn't been allowed inside in the three months since the Americans first arrived.

_I wonder what changed._

"Oh! There they are!" hitch exclaimed, waving as the vehicles made their way towards them.

On the horizon a single line of vehicles made itself visible.

"Well, they weren't kidding about the whole horseless carriages thing… it really is incredible." Marlowe mumbled to himself.

The vehicles approached, slowing down.

The front vehicle, a strange carriage, greenish and brown, large, and frankly intimidating even to the best of Military Police horses contained a polite looking man.

"United States Marines, Army, I take it you kids are our welcome party?"

Marlowe nodded calmly, doing his best to hide how he was impressed by the convoy of American vehicles.

The Marine officer nodded; an odd look on his face.

"Any officers?" he asked.

Marlowe said "Inside, sir."

"Right… well, lead the way."

Marlowe nodded and led his horse forward, his fellow MPs following him, and the American vehicles following them.

…

"So we're all in agreement then?" General Connor asked.

The Commanders of the military forces within the wall all nodded.

"It's clear the big threat is this nation of Marley, but if the king and his advisory refuse to acknowledge its existence, we might as well be inviting them to kill us all." Premiere Zachary said calmly.

"I still believe we should pursue a peaceful solution in dealing with the king. We have been unable to communicate in full with him due to _both _sides keeping secrets. So, once the advisory examines Eren, Ymir, and the other shifters, we must put everything out in the open." Erwin stated.

_Ever the idealist, huh?_

As if he had actually spoken, all eyes turned to Connor and Representative Kelly.

"Right… look, we have to add that some secrets about our weapons need to remain classified, I hope you all understand that."

"I do have to say that I'm curious about that. Why do you choose to hide your true strength, General?"

"Well, since we're being honest, Commander, it's better to not show all your cards early in the game. But I will add that I'm certain we will need to discuss some of our more… destructive capabilities sooner rather than later… especially if peace cannot be negotiated with Marley. That's all I can say about that."

Nile frowned, asking "what would happen if you or one of your soldiers broke the order of silence and told us about your other abilities?"

Connor said "Immediate relocation to Alaska."

"…they would be sent somewhere unpleasant?"

"Not really, Alaska is more isolated than anything. Basically somewhere they can't spill secrets out to spies without getting caught. As for me, I would probably lose my position."

Nile chuckled, saying "That's fairly tame compared to what we would do to a traitor."

"Oh, no, treason is still a serious crime back home, death penalty if it's bad enough. That said, we define treason as something more serious than simply asking for information about classified projects or themes."

Nile said "Right… so… when do we head to Mistras?"

Kelly said "Two days. We want to give the advisory some room to examine Yeager and Ymir without our immediate intervention. Of course, our boys and team Levi are ordered to lay out the terms of the examination… no cutting them open."

It was a gamble, almost handing the shifters over. That said, with the US presence in the capital, and the CIA led special forces team keeping an eye out for anything squirrely, the US and the Survey Corps were somewhat confident the king wouldn't try anything stupid.

_And if he does, he can talk to the front end of a 25 millimeter Bushmaster._

"Alright, so… politics out of the way, I am most curious about these… French beverages." Commander Pyxis said.

"Ah… um… alright, in the next room." Kelly said, standing from the table and heading out.

Zachary sighed and said "I often wonder who your parents were to make such a proficient drinker."

"Perhaps there's a little… hey, Erwin, who is it on the other end of the Gate that drinks a lot of pure alcohol without dying?"

"…what?"

"The nation that drinks a lot!"

"Belarus, actually… although the stereotype is that Russians drink a lot." General Connor mumbled as he walked past the commanders.

"Then a part of my body belongs to said nation!"

…

Matt waved awkwardly at the curious crowds.

_Can't get used to this…_

It really was like going back in time. The way the people dressed, moved, chatted amongst each other resembled the old photos he had seen in museums. Totally different from the cadets and the military.

They were oddly polite, too. Not so much cheering them on, as they were waving and observing, talking amongst themselves, certainly curious but staying out of the way.

"You know, none of these people know about the outside world yet." Dave said.

Matt glanced down from his position.

"Makes you think… is it worse that you are raised thinking the outside world wants you dead because its dominated by giants that will eat you or that the outside world wants you dead because your ancestors tortured whole civilizations you didn't even know existed?"

Matt scoffed.

"What?"

"Between us three, I hate the possibility that we may have to pull back if things escalate." he said, taking advantage of the fact that Ilse had stayed behind to work with the military commanders.

"Against the outside?" Jake asked.

"Hell yeah, these people aren't perfect, but who did they hurt? Pisses me off…"

"Group mentality, man. I have an uncle that still hates Vietnamese people. Like we said before… it's all complicated."

Matt pursed his lips, wanting to argue against it, but knew he couldn't. Who was he to judge? Everything he had told Ilse was true, his nation wasn't perfect, none were.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Silence.

Jake gently stepped on the brakes as the convoy suddenly lurched to a halt.

"What the hell?"

The radio crackled to life then.

"Vic actual, why are we stopping?" a voice asked.

"Something about an inspection, everyone on this station wait one…" another voice replied.

"Inspection? What?"

Matt subconsciously placed a hand on his M4 carbine, the standard issued weapons neatly tucked away within his turret.

_What the hell do the MPs need to inspect us for?_

The same thoughts were going through Kane's mind a few vehicles ahead.

The Marines in the MRAP were already suspicious, but the kids outside looked downright confused, not threatening.

Marlowe was scratching the back of his head, wondering what he was supposed to be looking for as he looked at the large vehicle's side.

"Kid, any idea what you're _inspecting_ for?" Kane asked.

Marlowe shook his head.

"Officers up ahead said to inspect the cars, that we would know what we were searching for… but I don't see anything wrong with your carriage."

Kane peered out of the window to glance at the officers further down the street.

"They look just as confused as you."

"Marlowe, what the hell are we supposed to be inspecting? I don't know how these things work, so what am I supposed to find wrong with them?" Hitch asked, angrily riding up on her horse.

"I don't know, it looks like they just want us to hold the convoy here for some reason."

Kane deadpanned, saying "Oh, yeah, _that _doesn't sound ominous at all."

"Well it's what it looks like… I don't like it… Hitch stay with this carriage, I need to talk to Captain Ian."

"Wait, w-?" Hitch managed to say before Marlowe rode off, ignoring her.

She huffed in mild frustration, but kept the bored expression on her face.

Kane turned to Murphy, asking "Team Levi say anything?"

Murphy only shook his head, narrowing his eyes.

A moment later, Marlowe got back to them.

"Nobody has seen the captain after he gave the orders and now the officers are unsure of what to do."

"Wait, so we're just supposed to keep the shifters and their escorts here?!" Hitch demanded.

"You don't have to like it, but that's what it seems like… sorry, sir, we- sir?"

Kane didn't say anything, now eyeing the nearby rooftops.

"Uh… mister American?"

Kane glanced at Marlowe and asked "what?"

"You alright? Seemed to be spacing out." the kid said.

"My cousin was deployed in Afghanistan- uh… a country we're at war in… told me some of the enemy combatants would pull stuff like this to ambush our guys… bit paranoid about it."

Marlowe frowned and began to look at the rooftops, asking "You think someone from my unit could be planning an attack?"

A few MPs hopped from the rooftops looking just as confused.

"I hope not… what really worries me is that we aren't getting any chatter on the subject… feels way too quiet."

This was in spite of the crowd of civilians now taking the advantage to get a closer at the wondrous machines.

Several rooftops away, Petra was staring through binoculars as several MPs moved slowly among some rooftops, looked around, and hopped back down to the street below.

"They seem to be searching for something, not really doing anything." she said, her hood covered her face.

Levi stayed in his position behind a chimney, eyeing the surrounding buildings with suspicion.

"So… um... captain?" the girl asked.

"What is it?"

"I overheard Hanji ask about a man named Kenny… is he a relative?"

Levi glanced at the girl for the briefest instant before turning his attention back at the surrounding buildings.

Oluo scoffed, saying "Petra, if you're bored, you can ask the captain other things about himself. We could always settle some bets."

Levi said nothing.

Oluo wasn't giving up.

"What do you say, captain? We try to guess something about you, winner takes the loser's next batch of rations?"

Levi said nothing.

"For example, do you prefer your tea with sugar or…?" Oluo began, his enthusiasm petering out at the lack of cooperation from his squad mates.

"We should probably keep paying attention, maybe it's just the MPs being finicky, but better safe than sorry, right?" Petra stated.

Oluo seemed to sigh something in agreement.

Levi pursed his lips, but seeing that no one was nearby other than his squad, he decided he might as well let them know.

"Kenny was a killer of Military Police officers. Ever hear of Kenny the Ripper?" he said simply.

Petra winced, turning to look at her captain, Oluo maintaining a stead gaze on the nearby surroundings.

In his usual stoic self, Levi said "Fact is, he taught me a lot when I was younger. I'm not sure how he got into the Interior Police, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't glad he-"

He heard the telltale sign of ODM gear hooks latching onto brick and tensed up.

"Petra!"

A figure moved faster than he could react, dropping objects onto the roof in an instant.

In the immediate instant after the small objects hit the rooftop, it was covered in smoke.

Levi felt his eyes water, but refused to fly out of the cloud.

"Stay down! Don't get sep-"

He heard a yelp and saw a figure crash into someone.

He heard Oluo shout "_**Petra!**_"

He turned towards the noise, frustrated when he heard the first gunshots.

…

Ilse cheerfully poured some ice cold water onto her canteen before heading out of the cafeteria.

_Ah, this is nice…_

It was relatively quiet around the base, and she was somewhat glad to get have some time off from the arguments about what to do once an agreement with the true king was settled.

A part of her still couldn't believe the man she had grown up thinking was the last king of humanity was actually a stand in for a darker plot of individuals who actually ran everything.

_Sounds like a bad movie._

Still, it would all be over soon. Either the king agreed to allow the military more leeway and allow the citizens more individual liberty and actually began modernizing, or everything would be made public and the civilians would decide and the new girl, Historia, would do all the above.

_Well, the military would decide… hopefully the civilians agree and we can all focus on dealing with the people beyond the walls._

She walked through the base, relatively absentminded, almost stumbling into Anka of all people.

"Oh, Miss Langnar. Enjoying your time off?"

"Huh? Ah, yes… everything alright?"

The chestnut haired girl looked worried.

"I like to be cautiously optimistic, but I am very much worried about violence breaking out in the capital."

Ilse nodded.

"If the king starts something, won't it be the end of him, though? No way would everyone just follow him after he attacked the people helping us… right?"

"We're still talking about a lot of people dying needlessly… funny, it's only been a few months, but I am very comfortable with the idea of low mortality rates. Rumor has it crime has decreased after those traffickers were executed."

Ilse shrugged.

The two girls were silent for a moment, until Ilse said "Who is that?"

She pointed at a man walking along the roof not too far from them.

"I… I think he came with Nile and his MPs? Wait, what is he carrying?"

The man was carrying a long, silver tube that at first glance seemed to be one of the gas tanks used on their ODM gear.

Except for the pointed tip at the end.

"Hey! What are you doing up there?!" A US Marine called from nearby.

In a swift motion that surprised the girls, the man whirled around and fired a pistol at the Marine, hitting him dead in the chest.

It was to no avail, of course, but it did knock the man down slightly.

Ilse recoiled and felt the adrenaline rush into her blood.

Anka spoke first, though.

"Miss Langnar, get out of here, alert the-"

An explosion rang out, and Ilse had a fairly good guess of what had been the target

_The Military Officers!_

…

Kane turned to the radio, realizing the panicked chatter coming through.

Marlowe asked "Is the… the radio alright?"

The boy remembered the radio had been one of the many important inventions the Americans had brought along with them. The ability to communicate across great distances was something he wished the MPs had.

"Uh… Vic Actual, any idea about what is going on?"

Before he got a response, Kane noticed movement from the upper corner of his eye.

The movement came from a window in the second floor of a building opening.

Lightning spat from it, slamming into Vic Actual with enough force to shatter the windows in the surrounding buildings.

_Wait- no… it… it didn't slam into Vic actual- it hit-_

Kane realizd too soon what was happening when he saw that the angle hadn't been aimed at his commanding officer's MRAP.

No, it was aimed at the MPs chatting with the officer.

Marlowe noticed, shouting "Who was-?!"

A second explosion, this time from behind his MRAP.

Civilians began to scream, and smoke began to rise to the heavens as a fire began to spread.

Gunfire followed soon after, but it wasn't the almost mechanical cracking of modern firearms.

No, this was the gunfire of ancient muskets.

"_**The Americans are attacking!**_" a panicked voice shouted loudly, quickly being drowned out by the screams of civilians.

Marlowe wasn't fooled.

"Hitch, get as many people out of here as you can! Someone is hitting us, and it isn't the Americans! Make sure you get word out, right now!" he shouted, trying to keep his horse under control, the loyal creature now nervous due to the intense sound.

"Huh? B-but who is-?!" it was hard to talk over the screams.

Before Marlowe could order her to be quiet, he glanced at a nearby shop and froze.

_Captain Ian?_

The young MP could only wonder why his captain was aiming a rifle at him from the second floor of a house.

Not that he got the chance.

Kane recoiled from the window as the forehead of the young MP exploded, splattering blood, brains, and fragments of skull into the window of his MRAP.

Horror turned into anger immediately.

Hitch stared, mouth agape at the remains of her fellow cadet, the body now lying on the floor, motionless.

The MRAP door swung open, Kane aiming his M4 at the building, firing several three round bursts.

"Kid, get to cover now! Go!"

Hitch couldn't move as the color drained from her face, not even as a round slammed into her horse, knocking her to the bloody street.

Kane cursed under his breath just as the voice of Lieutenant Troy came over the line, somehow louder than the others.

"Any station! Any station, this is Lieutenant Troy, First Brigade-!"

Another explosion rocked the smoke filled street.

"-gage! Engage! I say again, weapons are free! Engage! Engage!"

"Weapons free… God damn it!"

It took Murphy all of one second to get his hands on the controller and swing the Browning onto the nearby building and open fire.

…

Rory stared in horror at the sphere in her hands as the gunfire continued to intensify.

Within the cage by her bed of clouds, Hardy let out a disappointed sigh.

"I told you, Rory. In the end, it was all for nothing. "

"They… they haven't been kicked out of-"

"Rory… blind faith is for followers… I told you, this would be boring, predictable… you should have been more creative, not just be out looking to help other worlds."

Rory ground her teeth together before saying "Then I will hold my faith until this ends. This isn't over yet!"

Hardy shrugged, saying "I would tell you not to waste your time, but you have already committed. Don't get your hopes up too high."

"Silence." she said, staring without blinking as the blood continued to be spilled for reasons she was certain could have been resolved by talking.

But then again, sometimes it didn't matter what was said.

Sometimes, a fight was inevitable.

She wondered if that was the case here, and if she could have done something to stop it.

She decided that sometimes there was no way to gain peace without war.

Sometimes peace wasn't the answer, sometimes it was the problem.

For one hundred years, the Royal line had maintained peace by forcing its subjects to believe a reality that was almost in its entirety false. Peace had been maintained, but it had taken away from its people, not given back.

No, peace wasn't the solution here, it was clearly the problem.

And war was the answer.

* * *

**A/N: So long, Plot Armor, it was nice while you lasted.**

**Also, MAN, that took way longer than expected. Not going to make excuses, but I will say that parts of the chapter felt off at times even when completed, so apologies for the extra-long wait. Hopefully it was worth it.**

**That said, I wanted to address some of the issues seen in the last chapter like Eren not being focused on enough, but as I was writing it hit me just how bad Eren has had it.**

**The kid never got a chance to grieve. After he joined the military, every death, revelation, or attack, all he could do was throw himself into the action (oftentimes failing at even that). I think if Season 1 Eren was told that his father was from beyond the walls, and he was one of nine titan shifters that only had about eight years left to live, and the titans were actually coming from a nation called Marley just beyond the ocean, and the world he was raised in was mostly just a lie pushed by a self-proclaimed god… I think he would just ask "what do we do then?" after the initial shock wore off.**

**Really makes the scene where he starts breaking down in season 3 make much more sense.**

**Speaking of… the Uprising has begun. **

**Now to clarify:**

**Rod's powers: if he is anything like Frieda (remember she locked away Historia's memories of her by touching her hand), then he should be able to alter memories to some extent by merely touching a fellow Eldian , but I have to admit that I am uncertain if he had the same exact power as Frieda since the series seems to imply all Royal Family members have SOME ability to an extent, titan shifter or not.**

**This Uprising is taking place a little earlier than in the original cannon. I just think that under the circumstances of having a modern military from another world trying to help your people, Rod would react a bit faster (albeit with added caution), especially once the shifters were found.**

**Sannes is out of the picture (thanks, CIA), and Ian thinks a bit differently than him, so while inexperienced, he does have enough common sense to try and turn the people against the Americans, similar to what Zorzal did in later on in the Gate cannon. Note, he specifically tried stricking at both the Civilians and the younger MPs.**

**While there are still some titans around, that final engagement in chapter 7 wiped most of them out from outside Wall Maria, so any incoming titans will be arriving directly from the ports Marley uses.**

**Now, let's do a quick Reviewer Response:**

**Gunman- giving US infantry Desert Eagles as a standard issue side arm.**

**Uh… titans aren't really a big threat right now and it was US strategy from the beginning to avoid putting regular infantry against titans (Chapter 2 was the sole exception as it was a night operation and titans were pretty much inactive). Ultimately, I feel changing the siderm of a few thousand troops might be unnecessary when most of them are carrying M203s. Sidearms would explicityly be used for comabting human enemies, and a Desert Eagle is a bit too much.**

**It does make for a good "The Salvation War" reference, though. But the modified M1 Garands were enough for me.**

**But thanks for the suggestion.**

**Guest- will there be casualties?**

**Yeah… turns out humans are more dangerous than titans.**

**Guest- Giving the shifters lawyers?**

**I mean… if this was a normal trial they WOULD get lawyers, but the plan for the "trial" in the capital was to use it as an excuse to force negotiations open. Given what is about to happen, though, the shifters may not be the only ones who need lawyers.**

**Guest- Turning Grisha's journal into a published autobiography?**

**Not a bad idea. More than likely after the whole situation is resolved; Ilse herself is trying to write and publish her own journal in order to give more details about how our side of the gate is, so there could be a situation where both journals are published as a sort of cultural exchange between worlds.**

**Of course, Eren and Mikasa would have to sign off on it first… and the current conflict needs to be resolved.**

**Guest- Earth fighting over Paradis resources?**

**Kind of unlikely given where the Gate is situated, and the US have allowed some allied nations through, but it is something I plan to address. (note, the US found O-I-L deposits in this chapter) **

**Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and giving me feedback! As always, all suggestions, criticisms, and opinions are greatly appreciated! Sorry if I didn't answer some of the questions pertaining to the future of the story, like how would Zeke fare against the modern military forces, but those questions should be answered as the story continues to advance.**

**Hopefully next chapter will be out a bit sooner, but no promises as my schedule got thrown all out of whack after last week, so apologies for that. **

**With that said, thank you once again for reading, I hope to have the next chapter out soon! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Revelation 13:11-12**

* * *

Eren had been listening to Hanji Zoe and Doctor Hermann rehearsing what they were going to say to the advisory.

"All in all, we need to emphasize their innocence. If it turns out they still want them dead then we leave it up to the other commanders once the trial itself gets underway."

Eren turned to the young man next to Hanji, Moblit she called him, and asked "How long have you been working with the scientist?"

"Huh… four, closer to five years now, I think."

Eren lowered his voice and said "Don't you get tired of her… um… you know…"

The young man said "You get used to it. She has her charms; you just need to get to know her a little better."

Something exploded outside.

"Was… was that cannon fire?" Hanji asked aloud.

It sounded different.

"You don't think the MPs are starting trouble."

"This soon? I figured if anything would begin it would be when the Americans made it clear they would hold on to the shifters."

Before anyone could say anything about that statement, the radio crackled to life, panicked orders were being handed out just as another explosion rang out.

Eren heard the last part.

"Engage! Engage!"

…

"Engage _**what?!**_" Matt screamed, ducking into the turret of the Humvee, M4 peering out to the left side of the street, where musket fire was beginning to materialize after being briefly absent after its first salvo.

That was a problem with these ancient guns, not only were they deadly for what they were, but the smoke screen made it awkward to detect the shooters when they were firing from windows while on the move. If they repositioned within the building was hard to tell.

Sure, Matt could just shoot through the wood, a 5.56 bullet was more than up to the task of piercing through it, but it wasn't a guarantee, and he would have no way of knowing what he hit unless he went up there himself, and right now that wasn't an option given all the civilians in the area.

A fourth explosion, this one targeted one of the Army Strykers, not really doing much other thank leaving an ugly burn mark on the side.

_These bastards brought out some kind of medieval RPGs?! What the hell is-?!_

Matt physically winced as he finally saw the enemy.

An older man, not in any uniform, was peering from one of the slanted rooftops with a long tube that was eerily similar to a certain German World War 2 anti-tank weapon.

As he shifted his M4 to knock the man down, the tube fired a small spear like projectile that shot through the air like a lightning bolt.

It slammed into one of the trucks carrying the young members of the 104th.

Matt squeezed the trigger, saw the man jerk aside and fall to his death.

He heard the telltale thumping of M2HB lighting up a rooftop.

_Wish I could use the Mark Nineteen in this environment…damn civvies…_

A few vehicles ahead, Kane wished they could coordinate better.

"Your name is Hitch, right?!" he shouted, scanning the windows and buildings, looking for targets as Murphy simply fired into the nearest home or shop or whatever it was.

The girl only nodded slowly.

"Okay, Hitch, I need you to start directing the civilians away from here, this is a dangerous situation for noncombatants, right? We don't want anyone else to die, right?" he tried to keep authority in his shouts as the gunfire picked up again.

The girl nodded slowly.

It was odd, there was way more gunfire coming from the enemy than what one would expect for an army armed with 17th century rifles.

"Right then, some of the MPs over there are trying to organize, so-"

He went silent as one of the taller, maybe older MPs, a man trying to move civilians away, was shot dead.

It wasn't the cold blooded killing that got his attention, though.

The shooter wasn't using a musket.

No, this was different, this looked like a handgun, but the projectiles fired…

A spark got his attention just as some rounds slammed into the opposite end of the MRAP.

He risked a glance and noticed the burning metal put itself out before another flash almost killed him.

Kane felt smoke come from his ECH.

The Enhanced Combat Helmet wasn't exactly new, but it was the latest variation of protective combat helmets the United States military was employing; capable of protecting from small arms fire better than its predecessor, and it did its job well.

"Are you okay?!" Hitch shouted.

He turned to her, asking "What was _**that?!**_"

The girl stared for a second.

"It's like they shot you from a centimeter away." she said.

Kane turned to a reflective surface to examine he damage on it.

_Burn marks?_

He looked around and saw that some of the shots had actually managed to set small tarps and other flammable parts of the buildings ablaze.

_Incendiary ammunition?! These bastards have-_

Another large explosion shook the street, and Kane could only watch as civilian screams erupted once more.

"That- that's a cannon from the walls- how-? why-?"

"Murphy, rev her up!"

The man nodded, Kane turned to Hitch.

"We gotta get these civvies outta here, right now!"

"Can we even-?"

A pale young man ran up to the Marines.

Armin Arlert.

"Hey, Lieutenant Troy says to use your MRAPs to guide the civvies outta here, we'll be in touch over the radio to tell you where you can take them." he said, out of breath.

_Why not relay the orders over-?_

The radio crackled to life then "All Vicks, use your MRAPs to cover the civilians; any 104th cadets on this station try to pull back, coordinate with what non-hostile MPs you can find, shoot those that aren't cooperating, all First Brigade troops hold the line as long as possible, we will be establishing a rendezvous point to regroup! Give them hell!"

…_okay?_

"Sounds good to me; Hitch, Armin, spread the word."

The girl stood up nervously, but nodded.

Kane noticed she was only carrying her blades.

He reached for his holster and handed her his Berretta M9.

"The switch on the side removes the safety, you get about twelve shots. Don't point it at anything you don't want dead, got it?"

The girl only nodded.

"You get that back to me, okay?"

She nodded again.

"Right, let's go!"

A sixth explosion rang out.

This one was from a canon, a large one at that.

"Murph!" he shouted.

The gunner didn't even reply, simply swinging the machine gun in the general direction of the cannon fire and sending death down the road.

…

Ian ignored the scrapes on his elbows as he crawled on his stomach.

He gripped the rifle he had been given, and clicked the hammer back, bullets pelting the nearby buildings.

He had discovered all too quickly that remaining visible was a mistake.

An older MP, now out of uniform but nevertheless under his command had tried to get off a shot from the powerful rods that had set an American truck ablaze.

He was looking up at the sky now, no scalp to speak of.

Ian needed to grab the destructive weapon, knowing full well that if they wanted to catch Eren or any of the shifters, they would have to crack the Americans bad enough.

He inched towards the weapon, putting a hand on it with great relief.

He had it.

_But where are the traitors?_

He rather unceremoniously rolled back down towards the edge of the roof before dropping behind the house, finding two other MPs, younger ones, seemingly hiding behind the wood and stone.

"What are you doing?! The enemy is destroying our people!"

One of the MPs shouted "Like hell it's them! I _saw_ _you_!"

Ian grabbed him by the collar and shouted back with all the command he could muster up "I don't care what you think you saw, cadet! Grab a sword or a firearm and charge the enemy! Where is your sense of duty?!"

"Why the hell would I fight them when they want _you _dead?!" the cadet demanded.

"Oh? Oh! You think they want _me_ dead?!"

The second cadet could only watch in fear as the young captain shoved his fellow MP into the alleyway that exited to the street ahead.

The cadet realized what was going on immediately and went pale, tears began to pour from his eyes as he tried to get back up and run behind cover.

A round from an American gun tore through his side before he could reach cover, killing him before he even hit the stony ground under them.

Ian turned to the second cadet, and shouted "Pick up your weapons, soldier!"

The cadet sat there, frozen in fear.

"The enemy is killing without discrimination! You will either die fighting, or die cowardly, but believe me that you will die regardless of what you do right now if you don't follow my orders!"

The cadet shakily grabbed one of the nearby muskets and began to inspect it.

_Good… now all I need is to find-_

"Captain! We located the shifters!"

The young captain grinned.

A few seconds later they were on a rooftop, hidden behind the slanted tiles, glancing over the street with caution.

Ian frowned as the gunfire grew in intensity.

"Where are they?" he asked, noting the pair of American vehicles, the armored kind that were certainly going to be problematic to destroy, albeit not impossible.

"That vehicle, sir, it has no main gun, and it seems to be sticking out of the fight!"

Ian glanced at his weapon before turning to look once again towards the street.

All the other American carriages were doing something except for this one.

A few of the ones in the rear had even moved further up in the street to blow away what forces he had thrown into them.

But not this one.

Which suggested it was carrying something, similar to the ones that carried the 104th cadets.

And the fact the Americans had left a second armored carriage protecting it meant that whoever was in there was also very precious. But if he used his weapon on the first carriage, and focused the cannons on the others…

"Smoke bombs?" he asked over the increasingly noticeable change in the acoustics of the battlefield.

The sound of muskets was being drowned out entirely by the automatic guns.

One of the men nodded.

"Do we have cannons in place?"

"I already moved them, sir!"

"Great, we move on my mark! We only get one shot at this."

…

Ymir had never seen something so ridiculous in her lifetime.

Both Hanji and Doctor Hermann were restraining Yeager as he kicked and demanded to be let loose by the driver of the Stryker.

"Damn it, let me out! I act as a shield in titan form!"

"And throw our forces out of whack! Just stay put!" Hermann responded.

_can you imagine how awkward it would be to move him around here? Even with the wider streets, it would still-_

"Oh, is that it?! People are dying out there and you want me to stay put?!"

Hanji now shouted over him, "Whoever is attacking wants you dead or captured, Yeager! Assuming these are even regular MPs! That means you would be facing the top soldier of every regiment! Do you really think you can evade them long enough to act as a shield?!"

The boy went quiet.

The radio continued to crackle orders and updates.

"We are at least safe in here, that way we can pull back, regroup… figure this out… Sorry about this inconvenience, your majesty." Hanji said, turning to Historia, the girl covered her ears to the gunfire and explosions.

"Vick Two, pulling back, Papa Bear, Papa Bear, what's your status?" Lieutenant Troy said over the radio.

"Sitting pretty, el tee." the soldier operating the radio said.

"Copy, we just got orders and a location to rendezvous. Begin pulling back to-"

_*** CRASH!* **_

Ymir barely managed to grab Historia as the APC was shaken, knocked aside like a toy almost, and she sawt he radio operative slam into the walls of the vehicle.

"Papa Bear-? What was-?"

_*** CRASH!***_

Another explosion rocked the vehicle again, knocking out the radio.

Eren barely managed to get up in time as the rear of the stryker fell open.

"Yeager, don't do anything stupid!"

Eren grit his teeth, shouting "Help me move them out of here!"

She glanced at doctor Hermann and the two scouts.

Both were knocked out cold.

"What the hell hit us?!" the driver asked no one in particular as he grabbed his rifle and picked up the unconscious Moblit.

"Must have been a canon, the big types… when they get one down here?" Eren muttered as he began to pick up the German doctor.

"Princess?" the American asked.

Ymir checked Historia who happened to be clinging to her like a child.

"You okay, _princess_?"

She shook her head as another explosion rang out in the distance.

"Vick 2, Papa Bear is down, we are requesting immediate-"

The soldier winced, lifting up his M4A1 and squeezed the trigger one second too late.

Eren had barely turned in time to see the MP shoot the man point blank with a musket, knocking the American to the hard floor of the APC.

There were four MPs, one in uniform, three out of it, but their gear and guns made their identities easy to discern.

A young man looked directly at him and spoke up, reloading his musket.

"Eren Yeager, Ymir the titan, and… wait… you're…"

The blonde girl made Ian worry for a second, but then he put two and two together.

"You must be important. Tie them up, now!"

Eren dropped the doctor and lunged at the young captain.

Ian didn't bother to open fire; he simply slammed the gun into the young man's side before shoving him back into the vehicle, the teenager collapsed to the floor, holding his side.

"Go ahead and transform, kid; I wonder what breaks first, you or this American iron."

Eren knew he couldn't transform inside the APC without killing Historia, Hanji, and Doctor Hermann.

So did Ymir.

"Yeager, just cooperate… for now. You, how did you know about our location?"

"This carriage had no guns; so it was a prime target, now move it!"

Eren saw the cannons on the edges of the street.

_They rolled them right next to the APC? How did-?_

Eren was suddenly able to appreciate just how much smoke filled the street.

The constant barking of machine guns nearby made it clear, the guys in the front and back were too busy pulling back.

"Wait, what about Miss-"

Before he could do much more, a force slammed into the back of his head, and everything went black around him.

Hanji stared as the MPs knocked Eren and Ymir unconscious.

The young man in charge glanced at her before looking on with disgust.

"You are one of the people willing to betray the king?"

Hanji didn't reply.

Ian turned to look at the German doctor.

"He one of the scientists working with you?"

Doctor Herman stood up by himself and said "I am, and if you want to keep those kids alive, then I suggest you- wait! Wait!"

He couldn't say more as Ian removed his blade and jabbed it into the man's neck.

It was here that Hanji refused to stand by, lunging at the young captain.

"Miss Hanji, don't-" Moblit protested too late.

Ian kicked the woman back with relative ease before shouting "Traitors deserve to die."

He grabbed a strange looking handgun and attached it to his ODM gear, right where his blades would go. He placed a canister, similar to a flare, on its tip and aimed it at Hanji and Moblit before glancing up and firing at the sky.

A dark haired girl fell to the street, smoke emitting from her side; her body remained unmoving on the road.

_Mikasa Ackerman!_

"Damn it… Eckhart! Kill them. The rest of you, let's go."

Before Hanji could react a second MP moved up with two of the odd guns, and fired both shots right at them.

…

Samuel winced, his ears ringing as if a bell had been hit right within them.

He looked through the smoke in the truck the Americans had been transporting him and several other cadets on.

_Wait, where is-?_

"_**Samuel**_! Come on!"

He then felt the distinct pulling on his arms as Mina Carolina kept dragging him away from the burning vehicle.

The ringing completely subsided, and he became horrifyingly aware of the gunfire around him.

Some of it was certainly American guns, automatic weapons firing quick three or five round bursts, but a lot of it sounded more like the telltale explosion of muskets.

Mina dragged him behind one of the other trucks, one that wasn't yet burning.

The American transports were nowhere near as armored as the Marine MRAPS or Army Strykers, being more exposed they could certainly be destroyed even by regular cannon fire, and whatever the attackers had shot them with clearly wasn't a regular cannon.

Samuel didn't stand up, yelling over the gunfire "Everybody okay?"

Mina didn't have her rifle, and the only one carrying the modified M1 Garand was Thomas, who occasionally risked glancing above the truck despite what the driver said.

Mina nervously shook her head.

A bullet zipped past, just above her head, and she covered her ears, sucking in a breath and desperately trying not to burst into tears.

The cadets had no Kevlar helmets, no plate carriers, and the closest thing to armor they might have were the vests where they carried ammunition clips, and that wasn't exactly protection against other bullets.

Samuel looked around, not moving from his position, seeing that there were several dead civilians next to the flaming truck.

"Look up!" an older American, maybe Sergeant Roy, shouted as someone in ODM gear flew from one side of the street to the other.

A quick burst and a body slammed into a nearby rooftop.

Samuel did his best to ignore the drops of blood coming from that spot.

He managed to sit up and turned to the blonde boy.

"Thomas! What the hell is going on?!" he managed to shout.

"I don't know! I can't see any of them- they- I think they're hiding in the houses- I think."

Sergeant Roy ran up, almost crouching behind the armored vehicle, he grabbed Thomas and began pushing him down.

"Hey, kid, if you don't keep your head down-"

A force slammed into the top of Thomas' forehead, knocking the boy to the floor before the sergeant could push him out of danger.

The boy had died before his head hit the stone road.

Sergeant Roy shut his eyes tight for the briefest second before turning to Mina and Samuel.

"Jackson, Carolina; where are your rifles?"

"I-in the truck, sergeant." the girl barely managed to say, now choking back tears.

The burning truck had several bodies around it, all set on fire, most with the Garrison insignia of the 104th.

Roy gripped his own M4 tightly before picking up the modified M1 Garand and handing it to Mina.

"Keep your heads down, eyes peeled; the hostiles were trying to hit the civilians but not anymore. Jackson, can you walk?"

Samuel nodded.

"Pretty soon we're going to get one of two orders, either we pull back for air support, or we pull back in order to regroup."

Another explosion rang out.

"Regroup?" Samuel asked.

"Couple of guys with the Marines and MPs escorted the civilians, used the MRAPs as shields and to carry wounded. We're trying to hold the line for them, now if you see someone not in uniform, you shoot! Can't be that many left so hold on!" he shouted, firing another burst into a house.

Samuel noted then that the gunfire was diminishing.

…

Dave hurriedly used the fire extinguisher on the burning Stryker, the only one seriously damaged by the attack, and the one were the VIPs had been under lock and key.

_Keyword "had"._

"I don't see them, looks like they just killed anyone they didn't care about and burned the place down!" he shouted.

The gunfire had almost completely dissipated, and the US forces in the street were tending to what wounded they could gather before moving on to regroup.

"Four eyes? Doctor Herman?" Matt asked, hiding his horror.

_Did no one within the Stryker survive?_

A weak groan answered his question.

Next to the Stryker was a cadet the young soldiers recognized.

"Oh, of course… get a medic over here."

Jake walked over and picked up a badly wounded Mikasa, burn marks and blood were all over her side, the girl looked pale.

"Did she just charge at a bunch of guys armed with guns?" Matt whispered.

Dave said to no one in particular, looking around the Stryker "It looks like she just took a shotgun blast to the ribs. How is she still breathing?"

Matt replied anyway "Dad used to tell me of a guy back in Kansas who got shot with one in a hunting trip, you can survive those, although they never get all the pellets out."

Jake was about to argue back when Dave shouted "Guys, we got another one!"

Matt turned to see Dave dragging an injured Hanji out of the Stryker.

"What? How-?"

"I think Moblit shielded her from the fire, she was under a badly burned body."

_Looks kind of badly burnt herself…_

Matt could only grimace before looking around.

Parts of the street were on fire, but it was mostly just shot to hell; homes riddled with bullet holes and now abandoned cannons and bodies.

Guns were guns at the end of the day, weapons with the power to snuff a life out in an instant, but there was obviously a difference between an ancient flintlock musket and a rifle capable of firing thirty one supersonic rounds off in a few seconds with accuracy the musket couldn't even hope to achieve.

It partly explained why the MPs had struck them at such close a range; it was the best shot at causing damage on anything remotely resembling equal terms.

_Guerilla tactics… the worst enemy of an invading army… what helped make us abandon Vietnam…_

He balled a fist before turning to Dave to help him carry the wounded scout onto their Humvee.

Both soldiers went back to work.

…

Ymir couldn't hear anything, but she noted the smell of smoke was diminishing.

She felt herself hit the hard, stony ground, and whatever they had stuck on her ears must've loosened because suddenly, an angry man was screaming at the top of his lungs.

"YOU ALMOST KILLED HER!"

"Your Majesty, this is my responsibility, I apologize for not fulfilling my duties." the voice of the young man that had kidnapped them said loudly and quickly.

_Your Majesty, eh?_

Ymir began to attempt standing up, unable to see anything thanks to the cloth tightly wrapped around her head.

"Did your forces manage to push the Americans back?"

"Somewhat. They decimated my main force once they got over the shock of being attack, but instead of staying or retreating, they sent a fair part of their force into the city while leaving another part of their force behind to keep fighting us. The men performed valiantly, your majesty."

"I have no doubt about that. How many civilians…?" he began, not finishing the question.

"Several, we couldn't count them given the urgency, but I saw several get caught in one of the explosions. The opinion of the Americans will surely sour after this."

_So long as no one discovers those were our rockets that killed civilians…_

"I see. Well, no time to waste then, get the- oh, dear, this one's already awake."

Ymir felt something slam into her head and knock her back to the ground.

She began to try and cut her hand, desperately attempting to use her power, only to find herself unable to think straight, dropping into unconsciousness once more with a second kick to the head.

Rod stared at the dark haired girl, turning to Ian once more.

"Captain, you must protect the area around main government building; the advisory will remain there, and you must protect them. The Americans cannot be allowed to discover where we are going, understand?"

Ian nodded before asking "Do you trust them?"

Rod briefly glanced at the blonde woman that had been working with Kenny for a while now before becoming a captain of her own unit of anti-personnel officers. She was monitoring the battle from a rooftop as her men loaded a certain unconscious blonde girl into a carriage.

"Kenny is a hot head, something I cannot afford. Keep a close eye on him, but use his men to bolster your own. We only have one shot at this, captain. Spread the word of this travesty!"

"Yes, your majesty!" Ian replied, offering up his heart.

…

"I got another wounded cadet here!" the radio screamed.

"Pull back- back to the center of the city, there is a large temple there we are using as a main base. Take any wounded civilians there as well, but prioritize the cadets and the men." the CIA woman growled to the Delta operative repeating her orders over the radio.

"They acted much quicker than we expected, huh?" he mumbled before relaying the orders.

"Never should have trusted that bastard; nothing he said even hinted at this." Crow said as he finished reassembling his carbine.

Not even the Skyhawk still in the air had noticed the cannons hidden within the homes of unsuspecting civilians until it was too late.

"Nothing our devices picked up hinted at it either. This was done in secret, probably with us in mind… where is that bastard, anyway?"

"We saw him head out of the building with two guys we hadn't seen before ten minutes before everything went to hell." the radio operator replied.

She grit her teeth and said "We are _certain_ they took our VIPs?"

"An Army unit saw Historia get zipped away by MPs, the pricks shot the Stryker with two of the heavy cannons they had removed from the walls defenses. The fact the APC is still intact is a miracle given the size of those things."

_If those canons had been shot a bit closer… _

"Great, so everything went to hell just when we were about to actually try and push their hand. Whatever, grab what you can and let's-"

A figure appeared by their window, knocking on it.

_Ackerman…_

"Yo!" he said.

The CIA woman as well as a not insignificant portion of the Special Forces there wondered if shooting him there and then would be warranted, yet they only tightened the grip around their firearms instead of pointing them in any particular direction.

"Tell me why we shouldn't we blow your brains out in the next ten seconds." she said simply, grabbing the Sig Sauer and making sure a round was chambered in it.

"I would shoot myself too, can't blame you for that. But the king is taking Eren, Historia and that other girl somewhere and I think I know where."

The woman glanced at him before turning to look at her handgun.

"Well, where is it?"

"It's in a church somewhere in Wall Rose, but not only can I give you the location, I can do you something better."

She glanced at him.

"I think you guys are planning on neutralizing the MPs, right? Take leaders as prisoners, all that good stuff?"

She didn't reply.

"Kind Reiss gave me orders to protect the advisory and the remaining MPs. I was thinking… what if I didn't do that?"

The woman scoffed.

"Ah, so you knew of the attacks, stayed quiet and decided to play both sides?"

"That would be too smart of me. No, King Reiss didn't mention this operation to me until an hour or two ago, ordered me to stick to a lookout unit I couldn't trust. They're dead now, but I'm afraid he must've suspected me."

"Uh huh… and what do you want in exchange for this information?"

"No, no new changes or demands on our older agreement, but I would like for you to help my nephew."

…

Levi silently stared ahead as he supported the much taller Eld with what little help Petra could provide.

The blonde man couldn't even bring himself to say he was fine, the trail of blood behind them proving much too taxing for even the toughest scout to handle.

_Brilliant… sheer brilliance…_

The attackers had surrounded Levi and his team on the rooftops, using some type of smoke grenades to try and hide their paths as they attempted to ambush them with long rifles.

The smoke itself had been irritating, causing them to try to get away from it, but that decision alone had proven deadly.

Petra, half blinded by the initial strike had actually tripped and fallen from the roof of the building.

That was when the first gunshot rang out, the assailant had tried to hit her as she fell, thankfully missing.

Oluo had chased after Petra, which proved to be a mistake.

Two men fired at him, and while the distance made the shots less accurate, one managed to hit the man's stomach.

Levi had ducked behind a chimney, and saw how quickly the white haired young man had bled out.

_Seconds… it had taken seconds for him to die._

He wondered if Oluo had understood what had happened to him, since by the time Petra limped over to him he was already dead.

Eld and Gunther got hit immediately after that, but Eld managed to get hit somewhere that wasn't as vital in spite of the blood loss.

Gunther no longer had a face or much of a skull when Levi checked his body.

The attack had lasted a grand total of thirty seconds.

To Levi's frustration, the assailants did not stay and finish the job, retreating once they had fired their shots, denying him his chance at retribution.

This left him with a wounded Eld, Petra who appeared to have twisted her ankle, and himself, the only one somehow unscathed.

He was able to hear the chaos on the radio, as well as the distant gunfire, and he cursed himself for not being able to do anything about it.

At least there was a rendezvous point they could get Eld the medical attention he needed… hopefully.

He glanced at the chestnut haired girl.

She looked disheveled and exhausted.

He had actually thought he had seen someone tackle her earlier, but his eyesight had seemingly been playing tricks on him due to the smoke.

The trio silently walked through the alleyway, trying to keep out of sight, not daring to use the ODM gear and risk being shot down.

The distant gunfire had ceased suddenly.

"Captain Levi, you there?" the radio crackled.

"Lieutenant?" Levi grabbed it and spoke.

"Oh, great, you're alive. You guys got attacked too?"

_No, this was someone else._

"Two of my teammates are dead, one is seriously hurt, and one has minor injuries." he replied.

"Okay… Look, we haven't met, but you probably heard of us. We're the observation team that was put into the capital by US forces."

"Yeah."

"Great, now you probably know that we are rendezvousing at the Temple of the Walls, have you heard that at least?"

"Yeah."

"We're headed there now. What's your location?"

He nodded to Petra, who gently shifted Eld so that Levi could carry most of the weight whilst she moved towards the edge of the alleyway to look at the street.

Levi then said "Merchant's street. Petra will wave by the entrance to an alleyway."

"Understood. Be advised, the carriage is quite bare, so we may not be able to carry all your wounded."

"There's two wounded, can you carry that?"

Silence for a moment, but the person replied with "Yes, captain. My condolences."

Without replying, Levi sat Eld down on a barrel he turned over, and rested himself against the alley walls.

"Hey, captain…" the blonde man tried to speak, but Levi kicked the barrel, shaking Eld.

"Don't talk unless you're giving me your last words or feeling worse."

Eld nodded slowly and promptly shut up.

Levi forced whatever emotions he was feeling down again, before glancing up at the blue sky above. He recalled seeing it for the first time a lifetime ago, a different squad, a different reason for fighting… a different him.

His old team, his family, had been the first to die, followed by his original motivation, killing Commander Erwin, all replaced with other goals.

_This was the cost of freedom… Farlarn, Isabel, I wonder if-_

"Captain, the carriage is here."

"Right, come on, Eld."

It was just a wooden cart with a single horse and a few boxes.

Anyone would assume it belonged to a poor worker from the interior if it wasn't for one small detail.

The woman steering the horse had gear and weapons only the people from the other side of the gate could possibly own, as did the pair of men in the cart.

"Howdy, captain…" she said in an accent the captain had heard some Americans had.

_Something about the South…_

"Come on, if we want to regroup the time is now."

"What's going on?" Petra asked as Levi and her handed Eld to the pair of soldiers on the cart.

The woman with the southern accent scoffed before speaking.

"We thought we were playing the king… turns out he was playing us… albeit unknowingly. Had several men attack our convoy, kidnap the shifters, Historia, all while keeping the information from Kenny and a fair chunk of the commanding officers in the Interior police force. Bastard watches his steps."

If the statement affected the captain, he didn't show it, maintaining a hard stare as he got on the cart.

"Counterattack?" Levi asked.

"Working on it. The attack first focused on killing civilians with some rockets the interior recently acquired- no not from us. We also have some kind of situation developing in Hill Zero One, looks like they tried something there, too. Regardless, half our force pulled back into the city to escort civilians to safety, the rest pretty much annihilated the attacking force, except we all know that isn't the end of it. Plan now is to regroup and choose a strategy."

_An attack on their main base, too… why would-?_

Levi winced, realizing that not only could Erwin be the target, the entire military command was there.

He paled at the implications, but maintained himself outwardly composed.

"An attack on Hill Zero One? A decapitation strike?"

The woman shrugged as they turned a corner, civilians eyeing them nervously.

"Probably, but I can't really say. Kenny is still with us, gave us some locations to hit to keep Rod from fully enacting his plan."

Levi nodded, glancing at the men checking over Eld.

"Well, aren't you just lucky? Bullet seems to have gone through and through, probably missed his vitals; hurts like a bitch, sure, but I think you'll make it." one of the men said.

Petra asked "Are you a doctor?"

"Better. I survived a hit like this way back in the day. Round almost killed me, too, kept me in bed for weeks, but you're taking it like a champ."

"The war in the desert?"

"Uh… sure." the man replied.

The cart moved past the street anad into a clearing, where a large temple was situated.

The scene was chaotic as civilians, Military Police, American soldiers, and members of the 104th ran from one place to another.

A gunshot rang out, and Levi saw an MP scream and fall to the floor from a rooftop a hundred meters away.

The woman scoffed.

"Idiots. They have no idea who they just pissed off."

A civilian nurse, identified by the white cap and face mask on her head shouted "Take any injured to the left side of the temple!"

Levi hopped off, assisted Eld from the cart while the others moved elsewhere.

He glanced at the injured, laying on mats on the ground, barely comfortable if anything. He looked around.

Most seemed burned or like they had been shot.

A few missing limbs here and there, but he noticed the medical personnel, both American and not, running from one end to the other.

"Get more booze, the Americans only have so much of that sleep drug." he overheard one doctor order a nurse.

"Any empty mats? " Petra asked a tired looking American medic who was holding the arm of an injured child. There wasn't any blood, and it looked like the kid was just relaxing.

The young man glanced at them before saying "Uh- yeah… this one just opened up."

The medic picked up the little girl and walked away with her.

"W-wait- what happened to her?"

The medic turned and calmly said "Mother said the kid was four, she fell on her head while they were running away from the fight. Can't say for sure, but if blood can't get to the brain properly or if her skull dug into it… I'll be with you shortly."

Levi ignored the anguished wails that could only come from a parent who had lost their child a moment later, while Eld was laid on the mat and another American came to look him over.

A mere twenty yards away was the CIA woman, hidden behind a column of the large temple.

Crow was standing closely behind Pastor Nick, the religious man ignoring him in favor of glaring at the CIA woman.

Neither spoke for a moment.

Pastor Nick decided to speak first, a low, angry hiss accentuated by outrage.

"I kept my part of the deal, I told no one, so why do you bring suffering to my people?!"

The woman scoffed, saying "The man you call a king did this, not us. Trust me, if we were going to do something like this you wouldn't even _think _it was us."

"I saw the fire and heard the gunshots! Your men killed a servant of the king mere moments ago!"

"The king ordered this and sacrificed his own people in order to kidnap the titan shifters we were bringing in for a trial! This was a peaceful gathering until we got attacked!"

"I see your war machines. If this was peaceful then why bring them?!" Nick demanded, pointing at the Army Strykers.

"Oh, I'm sorry, _what_ weapons do your crack agents of the king have that can destroy the titans that put a hole in your precious goddess?"

Nick winced, but the woman continued.

"We have been _extremely_ forgiving and cooperative, Pastor, I-" she paused, lowering her voice to an equally outraged hiss. "I wanted to recommend a total change of rule, and we could do it, but we didn't because we actually try- _try_ to uphold the rules we put in place! It is exactly why we keep losing men to idiots who don't even know what lies beyond the next mountain range! if I was in charge I would have conquered your pathetic little piece of civilization from day one and threatened to destroy all opposition but I _can't _because we have _**rules **_to uphold, unlike the things running around shooting your own people- hell, their own _subordinates, __**in the face**_!"

Nick stared at her.

"So yes, Pastor, we brought Armored Vehicles to the capital, notice we didn't bring any tanks; we only brought the firepower we needed in case the shifters decided to get out of control."

Nick eyed the woman for a moment before saying "Well, then I do apologize for my earlier judgment of your people. Our church and its followers are at your disposal."

"Just tell me if the lying king gave you any orders."

Nick nodded and said "I received a strange order this morning from the king. He said to preach today about the dangers of the Americans. I was debating about it when the attack started."

The woman grit her teeth, saying "Oh, so he already had everything all planned out nice and pretty, huh? Attack the capital, blame it on us, spread the message around, all to put more obstacles in our way while he goes and does his thing? Delightful." she mumbled before walking away.

Crow followed after her, leaving the aging religious man on his own.

"We're going to have to deal with that right away." the woman groaned.

"What?"

"The king gets his story out first then the population gets riled up, even if its only a miniscule minority, any resistance might be enough to screw things up for us. We already lost people, we don't want another humanitarian crisis gone wrong… God damn it, give it options!"

"Well, what are scientists for?" a weak sounding woman said.

She glanced at the burned but very much alive Hanji Zoe, escorted by Lieutenant Troy and two soldiers she hadn't seen before.

"Sorry, spooks, she insisted on talking to you." the officer sighed.

"You're… oh, right, the titan doctor. Listen, miss, we're dealing with a lot right now, so if you have something to contribute-"

"You need the journalists on your side, I heard. The king is clearly smarter than we thought, os he undoubtedly planned… planned to have them get his side of the story first. I think we can change that."

The CIA woman simply raised an eyebrow.

"Your weapons, the ones you carry… they don't burn like the ones fired by the interior forces. Any competent journalist will note that much, they have seen how your guns fire way back in the early days… I… I just need to get to them."

"We can manage that much, I ordered a couple of Strykers to spread out, try to keep people in their homes, recruit what MPs aren't trying to kill us… we want civilians out of the line of fire, so we best act now."

_Damn, civvies…_

"Hearts and Minds… Right, get to it."

The Lieutenant nodded.

She realized that this was lower level officers making decisions on their own; suggesting contact with the main FOB wasn't back up yet, or at least not properly.

_What is going on over there?_

…

Ilse pushed the broken door aside and burst into the room where the officers, leaders of the US forces and military of the walls, were convening. Opening the door, someone she recognized as General Connor stumbled through before falling to the floor on the hall, escaping the room of death behind him.

Parts of it were on fire, likely remnants of a wooden table, but debris and smoke filled most of the room.

Anka and a medical team were right behind her, the small group rushing past her.

"Commander Pyxis?! Commander?!" Anka shouted as she began to look around the room. it wasn't exactly a giant area, more like a small auditorium, so there really wasn't anywhere for the wounded or the dead to hide.

Which only added to the horrifying realization that the eerie spots of darkness wasn't ash or blast residue, but human blood.

Anka shuddered and looked around, her resolve not wavering yet.

"Commander Erwin?" Ilse called before someone said "Here!"

She turned to the marine who had lifted part of a wooden table from the motionless body of the commander.

"Is he okay?!" Ilse shouted.

The Marine simply shook his head.

At first Ilse wasn't sure why the marine had answered negatively until she glanced at her commander's neck.

She covered her mouth before shutting her eyes tightly.

"Looks like the blast knocked him into the wall here, impact snapped his neck in two… at least it was quick."

He glanced at a charred body whose only identifiable feature was a little metallic bottle of a potentially dangerous liquid.

Anka shook her head, not saying a word.

_He didn't even let go of his booze in the end…_

"Anyone see the Representative Kelly?" another person called.

A weak voice answered from the hallway.

Connor managed to say "Wall… she was by the wall talking to Zackley when the explosion happened…"

The area around the explosion was marked by burnt blood and a few hints of the remains of organisms that had once been human.

Ilse made a head count.

_Commander Erwin, Pyxis, and Dawk, dead; Premiere Zachary, dead, US Representative Kelly, dead... _

That meant that with the sole exception of General Connor, who looked like he might drop dead himself, the heads of the military forces within the walls had been severed.

"…we need to get this message out, whoever did this must have been ordered by the king." someone said.

Anka angrily spat back "Bomb the capital! Those bastards don't care about the people or anyone else! I saw the MP that fired a rocket into the building, these people- they have to pay."

Ilse remembered the MP and immediately shouted "Has anyone caught him yet?!"

…

Ryan was in the process of closing the hatch on _the Harvester _when he heard the explosion in the distance.

Ever since the American force had begun pushing into the titan occupied territory, explosions near Hill Zero One had stopped occurring, no titans to be blown to bits and whatnot.

So to hear one now was strange, but this sounded different; nothing like the anti-tank weapons the men had brought.

_Certainly not a tank…_

He stood up and looked around from the top of the Abrams, and he saw the figure in the distance.

A scout or _someone _with 3D maneuver gear was hopping through the rooftops of the base.

_Not very safe… is something going on?_

The person stopped, as if to consider their options, and then hopped from a building, out of sight.

Ryan saw the smoke nearby then.

Then he heard the nearby radio go crazy with fellow soldiers and Marines shouting orders and questions.

One in particular made him more nervous than anything else.

"Anyone see where he went?!"

He was about to ask when he overherad the telltale sign of 3D Manuever gear gas, and he turned to look at a member of the Military Police land in front of _Harvester_ carrying a silver tube that… was being aimed right at him.

_Oh…_

…

He had considered himself loyal when he first joined the military.

Really, he had.

Humanity was at war with an enemy that was barely being held back by the massive structures known as the walls.

He had even admired the Survey Corps at first, honestly, he had.

That devotion to trying to retake the lost lands, the bravery that was required to go out there… he had wanted to emulate exactly that when he first signed up for the military.

Then Wall Maria fell.

Then the people began to starve, even in the barracks, rations were small and there was doubt his regiment would be ready in time to partake in the campaigns.

Then the campaigns to reclaim it actually came, and he saw how few members of the Garrison participated.

Aside from the Survey Corps, the campaigns were fought by civilians armed with whatever sticks and stones they had been able to scrounge up; it had been nothing but a desperate attempt to reclaim the lost lands by sheer force of numbers, none realizing the titans were also numerous.

He had heard the horror stories of the survivors, the executions for treason of some who had not merely retreated, but thrown others behind them in order to survive.

Making it to the top rank and joining the Military Police became a priority for him then.

_And now I get to risk my life for the king that started it all…_

He didn't really care if the king was deposed or not, but he knew that if he refused orders, then odds weren't looking good for him in the capital.

His one saving grace was that his attack would be so surprising, the American Military wouldn't see him get away once he used up both explosives.

They were a wonder, these piercing rockets.

When he fired at that building, saw the structure almost collapse on itself, the hole it left, and the fact that he had killed his own officers… well, the rush of adrenaline alone could be used to destroy the enemies of the king.

But now he had another target to find, and he needed one that would really hurt the Americans.

_Their precious flying machines?_

He had seen a few take off from the recently constructed runway when he and Nile Dawk arrived with the other commanders.

He figured that could work and began making his way over, but stopped halfway there.

_Their precious war machines…_

He had seen the line of vehicles, the titan killers that were originally meant to fight other human armies on the other side of the cursed gate that brought the problematic Americans.

_My thunder against your armor… I wonder what breaks first…_

And so he landed on the floor, hoping that any soldiers out to get him were still stuck behind him.

He saw that an American was standing atop the iron beast, seemingly frozen with fear, as if he knew how deadly the weapon he was wielding was.

The MP grit his teeth and pulled back the mechanism that allowed the projectile to fire from its cartridge.

The American ducked back into the tank, and all the MP could wonder was what would happen once the projectile hit the armor.

The projectile hit, blowing up in a spectacular show of smoke and sparks larger than any firework he had seen growing up.

The MP was left confused when all that had changed from the tank was that the spot where the projectile had hit was now simply a darker color.

_Well that's not very fair._

His final thought managed to be formulated before his head fell to the floor, separated from his body by a blade.

Mike Zacharias shuddered as he stared at the headless body bleeding on the floor.

Turns out human flesh stands less of a chance against blades designed to slice through titan skin like butter than an explosive device does against a tank.

"Are you alright in there?" he shouted.

Ryan popped his head out, yelling "Kinda! What's going on out there?!"

Mike frowned.

He didn't like how things were looking one bit.

…

The term "Fake News" was nothing new.

Be it tabloids lying or exaggerating a breakup between two well-known actors, or an actively malicious journalist trying to mislead the public about an event to further their political agenda, Earth knew about the fallacies of news media and both sides parroted the follies of their opposition.

However, "Fake News" had been a term coined relatively recently in the contemporary age, mostly because it was a snappy, perhaps even obnoxious response to those that tried pushing a story at a certain angle, calling out something while also insulting it. It wasn't that the story itself was a lie; the way it was being presented in was dishonest or had a political motivation behind it, so even if the journalist argued that the story was true, it would still get the label of "fake".

Two birds with one stone.

But the people within the walled society had never heard of such term.

It wasn't that they didn't know about it, they just had a different name for it:

"Propaganda"

And no one believes they are susceptible to propaganda, hence why the term "fake news" was a bit more impactful on earth.

_You aren't being fooled by propaganda; you are being fooled by people actively misrepresenting the truth, knowingly or otherwise._

Matt pondered this as the pair of Army Humvees gunned it down the street.

"Maybe we should take you to-" Jake attempted to suggest, but the wounded woman in the back could only shout back.

"I don't give a hoot if I have to crawl over there, we cannot let the MPs take control of the information the people get! If they release a story blaming you for the attacks, then the deaths of our comrades-" Hanji gasped in pain as the Humvee hit a bump in the rocky street, the heavy, up armored vehicle didn't make the most comfortable ambulance.

Dave growled, saying "Watch it, should be the next street over- _God Damn it_!"

The Humvee hit the brakes a dozen meters from a blockade of MPs, the one behind them almost crashing into them.

It was clear that these weren't regular MPs.

Hanji, began trying to sit up, asking "what? What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

"Interior Police… should we mow them down?" Matt asked.

"Yell at them to throw their weapons down." Jake said.

"Okay. Hey! U.S Army! Put your guns on the ground _**right now**_!" Matt shouted at the top of his lungs.

A young man turned with a bored expression on his face and yelled back.

"I suggest you step out of the carriage and surrender. We have orders to arrest any Americans and collaborators we encounter. Resistance will be met with lethal force."

"No, it will be met with a hunk of metal neither your blade or gun can pierce all while we mow you down with a gun that doesn't need twenty minutes to reload! Final warning! Put your guns on the ground _**now!**_"

"Get off your High Horse, invader. We are not going to lower our weapons. I sugest you do as you are told unless you want things to get ugly!"

_Wrong answer._

The MPs raised their, admittedly strange looking handguns and miraculously managed to fire a single shot before the Humvee behind Matt unloaded on them with an M240.

The 7.62 by 51 millimeter rounds of ammunition on the belt fed machine gun did their job, piercing the leather jackets and occasional metal breastplate worn by the interior officers with ease, tearing apart their internal organs so even if the impact didn't kill the men immediately, the damage would see to it soon after.

Hanji gave a pained expression once the gun ceased firing.

Dave shook his head, stepping out of the Humvee, saying "Alright, hopefully they didn't kill the guys in charge of the newspapers."

The door to the newspaper office creaked open, a nervous young man peeked outside before screaming "What is-?"

"You! Do you know these men?" Dave shouted.

"No! I… I don't think…"

The bloody street made the young reporter feel the urge to vomit.

Hanji began to push herself out of the car with Jake's assistance, calling "We need you to start informing everyone… the king… the king has lied to us all."

The man stared at them.

"The attack in the city was orchestrated by members of the secret police, they fired on civilians and other MPs alike to make it look like the Americans started the fight… I don't know how many journalists like you died in the attack."

The young man looked at her for a moment, noticing her burns, saying "Okay, come in."

Jake and Dave carried Hanji into the office while Matt and several other soldiers guarded the street.

He noticed that a few brave (or perhaps stupid) civvies peered from their windows in the nearby buildings.

Some looked terrified.

Others looked suspicious.

A man stepped outside then, asking "what is going on?"

"Units within the Military Police with explicit orders from the king orchestrated an attack on us as well as other MPs and civilians in order to make it look like we tried to attack you. Stay inside and lock your doors."

"But- why would the king do such a thing?"

"Sir, we don't know, but we don't want any more people to die, so please, stay indoors."

"Is that a threat?"

"Dude, you can stay out here all you want, if you're confident enough that you'll survive a battle between our guys and the interior police, then go right ahead, just don't get in the way." Matt replied, doing his best to hide his contempt.

The man eyed him for a moment before stepping back into his home.

…

_Don't you want to be a good girl?_

_Huh?_

_Don't you want to be a good girl? You said that's what you wanted to be._

_What?_

The girl formerly known as Christa opened her eyes to see a familiar looking man sitting across from her.

She realized that she was in a carriage, moving somewhere; the sun setting told her that she had been out for a while, and she noticed that they were moving away from the capital, heading north.

Which was, coincidentally, also farther away from the Americans.

"Historia, you're awake… I'm glad."

Recognition finally dawned on her and she said "Y-you're m-"

"Yes, it's me… I am… so sorry we had to meet like this, but I had no choice."

She wasn't buying it.

"No choice?! You're the king! You could have done so much in order to make things better from the shadows, and you say you had no choice?!"

Rod nodded, slowly.

"Historia, words cannot describe the guilt I feel, abandoning you, but I was not a king then, and my rule has been brief."

"Then explain that attack! Your men attacked us!"

Rod realized that the Americans had wrapped their malicious tentacles around his daughter; time to cut her loose.

"Historia, if you believe the Americans with all your heart, then explain to me how you know for certain they haven't lied to you."

"Huh?"

"My dear, I am not perfect… I was awful, I abandoned you, I… I let your mother die. Even if it was to keep you safe, even if I had planned it so that you would be safe even in the military, even if they were well intentioned, my actions hurt you, and I can only apologize with all my heart… but have I lied to you? At any point that we have spoken?"

The sheer amount of sincerity coming from the man she knew was her father shocked the young girl.

Still, he had ordered an attack for no reason… had he not?

"Why did you attack us then? We were going to negotiate."

"I do not trust the Americans… or anything coming from that gate."

"Why?"

Historia noticed a glimmer in the older man's eyes.

"Because I trust my brother, and my father… and the Founder." he said softly.

…

Jean found Armin sitting next to a once again wounded Mikasa.

"How is she?"

The boy shrugged.

"The doctor said the pellets from the shot aren't the big problem, seems that only a few actually hit her. The problem was her hitting her head so hard. She could have some serious brain damage, and they don't have the supplies to help her right here."

Jean sat down on the floor and sighed.

"Marco okay?"

"Yeah, our truck wasn't hit… seems only Mina and Samuel made it out of their truck, so that's… God, that's almost half of our regiment just… gone."

"W-? That means… Daz, Milieus, Hannah, Connie-?"

"Yeah…"

_And a lot more than them…_

Armin found himself going cold.

He had been somewhat preparing himself for the possibility of losing friends, but in a painful twist, the protection brought on by the soldiers from beyond the gate had lowered what few defenses he had set up, and now he felt too shocked to do much of anything.

He was even more surprised the deaths of so many ultimately came from human hands and not titans.

And yet he knew he shouldn't be surprised.

Even the titan incursions were brought upon by other humans, they knew that much now.

"Are there any plans to strike back? Some kind of counter assault?" he asked, desperate to keep himself from thinking too much about the horror he had witnessed.

Jean shrugged.

The two boys simply sat there, watching the weak breaths of the girl who had proven herself capable of taking on multiple titans with nothing but a pair of blades.

_Stopped by bullets…_

Armin wasn't sure how much time had passed when a loudspeaker sounded off.

An American MRAP drove by, the driver saying "All able bodied personnel are to report to the inside of the temple in ten minutes, I say again, all able bodied personnel are to report to the inside of the temple in ten minutes. Cadets, Army, Marines, MPs, and available medical staff." he seemed to add quickly.

The man continued repeating the message as Armin turned to Jean.

"Guess this is it… Ill see you inside, goldilocks." Jean said, standing up and walking off.

Armin ignored the halfhearted jab, continuing to look at the wounded Mikasa.

"Mikasa, you and Eren helped me more times than I can remember… try to rest now, okay? It's my turn to help you."

The only response from the girl was her soft breathing, indicating that she was still alive.

Armin maed his way to the temple of the church of the walls.

The insides had been turned into a sort of command center, portable computers on tables with some soliders he didn't recognize operating them, and young members of the Military Police as well as a few civilians showing both Lieutenant Troy and a blonde woman in a dark military uniform points on a map of the capital.

He recognized Captain Levi approach them, but didn't bother listening in on their conversation, noticing Sasha lying against a column, clutching her rifle.

"Sasha, hey… are you… you okay?"

The girl glanced up, forcing a smile.

"Y-yeah… I guess. What do you think this is gonna be about?"

_A counter attack, obviously._

"Um… who knows? Dinner?" he said awkwardly.

Sasha didn't laugh.

"Sorry."

The girl shook her head, saying "N-no worries, I'm just… worried, I guess. I mean, I was just talking to Connie and Thomas a few hours ago, now he's just…"

Armin felt his nails dig into his palms; frustrated.

_Why? Why completely refuse a peaceful solution? We could have talked this out!_

"Alright, Cadets, Marines, Doughboys… your attention, please!" the woman yelled.

Armin heard someone mutter "Who calls us _doughboys _anymore?" and another reply "Dave, if you insult General Pershing's men one more time I will _see_ to your deportation."

_What does that have to do with-?_

"The situation is as follows… the attacks we faced weren't limited to us. Our main FOB was hit with a deadly attack that killed the top military leaders and our own representative this side of the gate. We know this attack was orchestrated by members of a secret police force within the Military Police, which explains why they were so quick to kill MPs as well as civilians. That can only mean that this was either orchestrated by the king or by somebody in as high a position as the king, and with most of those people dead, there is only one actual suspect left alive. You know we have plenty of injured, and we need to prioritize their evacuation but we cannot evacuate people while the city is under hostile control. Captain Levi will explain our actions going forward."

The captain stepped up, a tired look in his eyes.

He looked at the young cadets for a second before speaking slowly.

"We are bringing the fight to the king. We have a defector who is willing to open up the main doors to the rear of the government building, so the plan is to have a strike force attack the main fortifications on the northern side of the building while another strike force sneaks in through the rear and takes control of the commanding officers and government officials from inside."

A tired, perhaps frustrated Samuel spoke up louder than anyone expected.

"How exactly are we going to do that? They took out one of the armored vehicles- the Stryker, right? Aren't they massing cannons around the main building, too? Do we have air support?"

Levi glanced at the young man, the uncaring glint in the eyes of mankind's strongest soldier silenced the younger cadet for a moment.

But only a moment.

"We do not have close air support. Can't risk hitting the civilians living nearby, and any helicopter coming here will be used to transport the injured, not blow things up. This will be a firefight."

Samuel stared in shock, ignoring that the other troops nearby didn't seem to mind.

"But… but we don't have any of the armor-"

"Oh, yes we do! We still have three Strykers left, each armed with machine guns. They will be front and center, firing at the cannons and suppressing any resistance from the front of the government building. Meanwhile, we will be going in through the rear."

Again, Samuel asked "How?"

Levi answered calmly, "Kenny Ackerman, he works for the king but has defected to our side. His men will let the special teams through."

"Teams?"

Crow smirked and stepped forward.

The CIA woman nodded and stepped aside.

"You boys and girls won't be having to lift a finger. We have two squads of Special Forces here." the SAS officer said with a grin.

Armin saw two men carry in a small, wooden model of the government building.

Crow pointed at the rear of the model.

"We will split up at the rear entrance, from there we will work our way up each floor, clearing it as we go while the main strike force distracts the rest of the hostile forces outside. Once we capture the officials we can use them to force any stubborn loyalists to put their weapons down."

Samuel spoke up again.

"Sounds like you have it figured out… What do you need us for?"

Now it was Levi who spoke up.

"Delta and Hunters squadrons are going to breach through the rear and clear the rooms… but I need a team with me while we move in to capture the advisory."

Silence.

"Kenny has a radio with him, he points that the advisory are barricading themselves inside the main room upstairs, waiting for their king to tell them what to do… perfect area to use our ODM gear to reach. We can catch them with ease, but we need to wait until the building is clear in order to move them outside."

"Cant Ackerman get them out himself?"

"The loyal MPs outnumber his men. Now, I don't need many of you-"

"And don't you have a squad that works with you?"

Levi didn't flinch.

"The ones that are still alive are hurt and won't be able to accomplish the mission. I only need one or two of you to carry those rifles in case any loyalists decide to get curious about the advisory."

Silence.

"What about Eren, Ymir, and Historia?"

Armin was surprised to see Jean ask the question.

The CIA woman said "Once the helicopters get here, we'll take one to a location where we believe they are being taken to. Right now, we need to take control of the capital."

Jean nodded, saying "Alright, I'll help you, captain."

Armin immediately said "M-me too, sir! I'll help where I can!"

Levi looked around.

"Us too! We'll help where we can!" a girl yelled.

Armin glanced at Mina Carolina who was raising Samuel's hand. The other teenager hesitated, but didn't argue.

"That should work… we'll stay out of sight and avoid any engagements we can, but I won't sugarcoat it, this could will get violent."

"What about the rest of us?" Sahsa asked nervously.

"Guard duty, we'll need you to watch over the wounded along the MPs here." the CIA woman replied.

Sasha nodded.

"Now, this isn't how we normally do things, but given the circumstances, we know that time isn't on our side. Grab your weapons, get ready to head out."

As the cadets moved outside, Sasha quietly asked Armin "They didn't say much about the Marines or the Army guys… What are they going to be doing?"

Armin noticed that several Marines were loading onto the Strykers while several Army guys were gathering weapons and gear.

"I think they have their orders."

The sun finished setting behind the gigantic structure of the walls.

…

"Stay indoors, if you are with the Military Police, throw away your weapons and surrender, you will not be killed. If you resist you _will_ die." the infuriatingly loud voice came from the city, and Ian knew the Americans were behind it.

"Ackerman!" he shouted, using his spyglass to try and scan the city for enemy movement.

Kenny reluctantly walked next to the young captain on the roof.

"They haven't struck yet, which means they're still planning. Those damned noise carriages are trying to intimidate our men into surrendering… can we do anything about it?"

Kenny sighed, saying "You got any more of those thunder spears?"

"They were all used up in the morning attack… so no."

"Then I doubt anything other than the big cannons will stop those cars of theirs."

_It had taken multiple hits to even knock one of the armored cars aside, let alone destroy one…_

"Your men are still covering the rear?"

Kenny nodded.

Ian sighed and sat down.

"…so… you met the previous king?"

Kenny nodded again.

"What was he like?" the young man asked suddenly.

"That… is a good question."

Kenny had been thinking about that for a while.

"Think of a drunk, but… not how you would expect. He… loved the peace, he had the strength to uphold it even if it weighed heavily on him… them."

"Them?"

Kenny laughed loudly.

"Kid, the previous king was passed on somehow to his niece, and then she somehow took on his will… I think even the man I met wasn't his own person anymore. Had this… look in their eyes. Not sure much was left of the original person."

"So… the Founder, he… it passes its will through to its descendants once they become rulers?"

"Yeah, somehow." the older man sighed, the day finally transitioning into night.

"Were your parents servants of him?"

"No, but my grandparents had been, and he hunted us Ackerman for years before I tried to kill him, and then he apologized and gave me this position, stopped persecuting my family and… well, I've done what I had to."

"Huh… I guess the Founder _must_ be a god to illicit loyalty from someone like you."

Kenny didn't reply.

Ian stood up, and said "I'm going to patrol the outer perimeter, maybe join a hunting team, see if we can catch any defectors. Think you can handle things here?"

Kenny nodded.

"Good. Watch yourself."

Kenny noted the double meaning behind the statement.

Rod hadn't allowed him to go along, he had ordered Caven to take a large chunk of MPs, both his own and not, and moved them to escort him on his way to his little underground chapel.

He hadn't gotten the chance to give Caven orders, but she was a loyal soldier, he was confident she wouldn't let things escalate too far.

_As for this Ian kid…_

He grabbed the small radio the CIA woman ahd given him and spoke into it.

"Hey, the useful idiot is leaving the building to look for hostiles."

A reply came back immediately.

"Copy, we'll be on the lookout. Be advised, attack will occur in three hours."

"You know, if it wasn't for all the technical terms, this could be a very efficient way of communicating." he mumbled to himself.

He forgot to let go of the button.

"Get with the times, old man."

Kenny chuckled before moving downstairs to convene with the advisory.

_Better make sure the puppets are safe for their future role as puppets for a different master._

…

"Kid like you know how to be a spotter?" the Army Ranger asked him.

Matt scoffed, glancing at the Ranger's MK 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle, saying "A bit. We all had to take in some extra training before coming here, and right now, I doubt it matters too much."

The Ranger grinned as the two soldiers walked up the wooden stairway on the hotel.

"Oh, right, could you hang on to this for me? In case they charge at us I want to focus on the rifle." Mike said, handing Matt his sidearm.

Matt nodded, and took it, placing it on his belt and moving into the room they would use as a sniper's nest.

Although no Ranger had been killed, several had been wounded when the attacks hit, which left several of them without key elements in their units.

Now those were being filled by other guys in green, Army or Marines.

Not a problem, the point here was to give a small degree of assistance if necessary; perhaps an eager MP tried to attack the Strykers from rooftops.

Night Vision Equipment and snipers were an easy fix for that.

The owner had been more than cooperative; he seemed a touch enthusiastic even.

The Ranger, a guy named Mike, set himself up by the window on the third floor, which wasn't ideal, but it was as high as they could get without exposing themselves to hostiles in ODM gear.

"View's ideal from here, street is almost a straight shot."

Matt nodded and got on the radio.

"Team 5 is in position, Hawks."

The SAS officer Crow replied with "Copy, Team 5. Be advised, several teams of anti-personnel forces are advancing into the city; most appear armed with simple muskets, but we are also seeing several armed with makeshift hand cannons. Engage on sight."

Mike said, "Hey, I see about five of them from here… permission to fire granted?"

"Copy, Hawks, engaging a group of five."

Matt was somewhat tempted to betray every American fiber in his being just to mockingly say "God save the queen" to a british officer, but put the thought aside.

There was killing to do.

Matt kneeled next to the window and looked through his scope.

"Uh… okay, distance, two hundred meters…"

…

Ian had been walking behind several men armed with the much more effective, albeit ugly, hand cannons.

Regular muskets didn't compare to those weapons, rounds that fired dozens of smaller pellets that caught fire as they exited the barrel, killing anything within its somewhat short reach.

Perfect for close ranged fights.

"Once we find them, I would like to see how well they handle a shot from one of these. Even if their armor stops it, there isn't any escaping the fire." one of the men said, chuckling.

Ian smiled slightly.

It was nice to be working with fellow dedicated followers of the king.

He stopped walking, thinking he saw a strange flash coming from way down the street.

Then the man that had been laughing just a second ago crumpled to the floor like a doll.

The squad of four stopped and stared at the bleeding MP.

The man was dead.

Ian looked around, realizing every door was shut, every civilian inside, and as understanding came upon him he was filled with anger and horror.

"All of you get out of sight right now!"

_The Americans are in control of this street!_

A second man crumpled to the floor, and Ian saw the flash of light this time.

Suddenly, all around him, he began to distant gunfire, muskets and whatever rifles the Americans used.

The battle for the capital was beginning!

Ian thought quickly, desperately trying to come up with a strategy, and one hit him.

"Does anyone have any smoke flares?!"

…

"Two hostiles down! Other three hid in an alleyway." Matt said as the radio chatter began to relay information.

"All hostiles down on our street." a voice said.

"Engaged a group of six; four hostiles down, other two are pulling back." another voice rang.

"This is team 5, we got one hostile down; five hostiles are firing back while staying behind cover. We're safe at this distance, though."

_Consider the Military Police effectively distracted._

"Heads up." Mike said.

Matt noted the MP run out of the alleyway, firing a smoke flare down the street.

"Huh… be advised, looks like some MPs have smoke bombs they are using for cover; if we can get some of the birds to watch our backs that would be just fine."

"Copy, team 5."

"We only have the one bird, right?"

"Yeah, the Delta guys are gonna use it to snake their way behind the government headquarters without drawing attention to themselves, so we gotta make do. Guy, right by the alleyway on the left, keeps poking his head out."

"I see him." Mike replied, gently squeezing the trigger on the MK 14.

…

Eren first thought that his eyes were refusing to open only to realize that there was a piece of cloth covering them.

He heard distant voices then, talking about something he wasn't sure he understood.

"…and he was able to control the titans to protect humanity."

"But father, the books say all that. The only difference is that humanity beyond the walls isn't extinct."

_Chris- Historia?_

The voice of the older man returned, saying "Only the Founder knows that for certain. For all I know it could be a trick by whatever force controls the titans that besiege us."

"Could the Founder not just regain control of the titans and the ones that are being besieged?"

"That is why we need you, Historia. Eren Yeager, against his will, was forced to take on the power of the Founding Titan, and he is now unable to use its power in any real way. But if you take the role of the Founder, you could easily solve all our problems."

Eren began trying to talk, only for the blindfold to be removed by a blonde woman who looked somewhat bothered by something.

He found himself kneeling in a large chamber that emitted a powerful glow of pure light similar to that seen in the morning sky, but entirely different as well. It took him a second to see why.

The brilliant light was coming from crystals of some sort that riddled the entire camber, floor to ceiling; as if someone had coated an entire cave with glass and had installed floodlights.

It was bright enough to look around, seeing the bizarre structure he was kneeling on felt both natural and unnatural at once.

He glanced behind him and saw Historia standing next to a man he had never seen before, but could assume who he was.

The girl still had her formal attire, so not much time could have passed after the attack.

He then found himself unable to speak.

As his senses returned, he realized that he was gagged and bound to the crystal pillars to his flanks, and the young man realized that he was unable to use his power, to hurt himself in order to transform.

"He's awake… young man, I assume your father never warned you about what he was going to do?" the man said.

Eren stared nervously at his captor. Rod Reiss had a look in his eye that suggested silent fury hid behind his calm demeanor; a madness only being held back by some desire to accomplish something else.

"You poor soul… Historia, if I am correct, you should be able to see into his memories by merely making physical contact."

Historia gave her father an inquisitive look.

"The Founding Titan recognizes those of royal blood like you and I; activating upon our touch… come, let me show you."

Rod took the young girl's hand and placed it on Eren's forehead.

A flash, a tinge of pain, and suddenly as if he had lived through it all once again, Eren saw his memories from back then, the day after the fall of Wall Maria, the day after his mother died, the day he had seen his father last, the day he remembered so little of.

He saw his father begging, almost incoherently, for the pervious founder to stop the titans.

He saw a girl dressed in white simply refuse.

He saw his father transform into a large titan, as well as the girl.

He saw the fight that broke out, the monstrous bodies slamming against the cave walls somehow not damaging anything.

He saw his father emerge victorious, devouring the girl, tearing he from the titanic spine with ease, crushing her without mercy.

He saw the merciless nature of the attack was not limited to the Founder.

He began to shake as he saw his father rip and tear children apart.

Their small bodies were crushed or torn under the giant, realizing that Rod had escaped because he had moved a fair distance away before any of his kids had managed that.

Adding to his horror, Eren realized that the gap in his memories, what he had been pushing to the back of his mind for so long despite knowing it was the only way it could have happened, was confirmed with the brutal, unfiltered experience of living through it once again.

Grisha Yeager had dragged Eren somewhere, injected him with a syringe, had Eren transform into a mindless titan, and allowed himself to be devoured by his own son in order to pass the power of the Founder to him.

Historia recoiled as the memories stopped playing in her head and stared at the petrified looking Eren Yeager.

Rod shook his head solemnly.

"You were nothing but a tool for your father. I am so sorry this happened to you."

Even if he wasn't gagged, Eren wouldn't have been able to speak.

"I do not hold it against you; I can't imagine what was going through your father's mind, but… I ask that you please, understand that this is the way humanity continues to survive."

"But… father, why did the previous founders not end the titan threat themselves?"

"That is something only they can know for certain. And there is only one way to do that."

Eren was brought back to reality by the sudden appearance of a syringe not unlike the one his father had used.

Historia glanced at Eren, then glanced farther behind him.

"Ymir, what should I do?" Eren heard the girl whisper.

…

Several hours had passed, and Matt wasn't sure if they would have to pull the trigger anymore for the rest of the night.

The MPs that had managed to retreat back to their fortifications around the government building hadn't bothered coming out again, and he was feeling confident that they would stay there until the main attack got under way.

Mike asked "So… you from Kansas?"

"Yeah, we had a house just outside of… Lawrence; moved to Jersey a couple of years back."

"Huh, I was thinking about retiring to Kansas. Is it any good?"

"Hell yeah, it-"

An explosion slammed Matt away from his position by the window and into the opposite wall.

He felt dazed, but unhurt as he got up and tried to get on his radio.

"Hawks, what the hell just-?"

Matt glanced at his radio only to realize that the little cable connected to the speaker had been cut in two.

"Mike, Mike are you-?"

A couple of shots rang out, and Matt suddenly found himself facing a young MP holding on to a strange little handgun that reminded him of an old World War 2 British made air gun.

Mike was on the floor, missing his head, part of his skin on fire.

The MP grinned and allowed the tube to fall to the floor, loading another one in place.

Matt reached for his M4 and lifted it in the second and half that it took the MP to reload.

The MP didn't really feel like sticking around, hopping out through the hole in the wall; dropping out of sight.

Matt winced, wondering what had just happened when the sound of ODM gear snapped him back into reality.

He gave Mike one last check before forcing the vomit threatening to come up back down his throat.

He cursed under his breath and gunned it for the stairs, ignoring the stinging pain on his leg.

…

"They're firing their cannons into the city?!" Crow demanded.

"Yeah, they repositioned them in an attempt at aiming, I suppose. They're firing like crazy right now." the voice of Kenny Ackerman came in through his radio, while other radios reported the sudden counter attack by MPs.

The CIA woman sighed.

"Figures, maybe they'll try to set the city on fire, too. Come on, we're on schedule."

"I think they got one of our sniper teams in that first barrage." Crow said.

"Maybe…send the Strykers in now. We have the ammo to keep them pinned, and the firepower to take care of the cannons." Lieutenant Troy said over the radio.

The teams were well out of range of the canons, but accidents could happen, and if a canon hit a team, they may not necessarily be dead.

"Yeah… let's do that. Guess we're winging it worse that we thought." the CIA woman mumbled, checking her weapon.

"Hope they got ear protection." Crow mumbled, knowing full well what was about to come.

"Ear protection?" Mina asked quietly as they move through the darkness in two groups.

Crow said "You were in Shiganshina, yeah? Remember how the Army boys played hellishly loud music when they attacked?"

"Yes…?"

"Guys, looks like we didn't need the distraction. There's only five guys in the rear. If we hurry…" one of the Delta officers began.

"Yeah, we can end the carnage sooner. Let's go."

Levi said nothing as they reached the building.

A tired man waved at them and opened the gate.

"Kenny can't talk right now, he's with the advisory. there are a bunch of MPs in there that aren't friends of ours, but they're outside the main hall." the man said.

Crow nodded.

"104th, on me." Levi said, using his gear to go up the building.

Armin slung the rifle behind him and followed suit.

Jean did the same.

Samuel appeared reluctant, but did so anyway.

Mina turned to Crow once more and asked "Are they going to play music?"

"Don't call it music, call it… auditory intimidation. Now, let's get this job done." he said, flipping the safety off his C8 carbine and heading inside.

_Showtime…_

…

Ian could only smile.

His message had gotten through!

The Americans had better rifles, but they didn't have any cannons on hand. Even if the barrage killed some civilians, the newspapers would likely blame the Americans if all went according to plan.

One of the canon shots had even slammed the exact area where the Americans were! And that was just the first round!

They might be ble to defeat the Americans yet.

The MP he had sent to check on the sniper's nest landed nearby and he asked "Are they dead?"

"One is, the other was wounded, but ran away."

Ian yelled back "Well don't just stand there! Every American we kill betters the odds that they will retreat one the king finishes his plan!"

They began to move forward when Ian heard a noise in the distance.

_*let the bodies hit the floor*_

It was… a faint whisper?

He ignored it and made sure his gear was working before heading into the alley, searching for the lone American.

_*let the bodies hit the floor*_

"What is that? Who is whispering?" he asked aloud.

…

Kenny Ackerman was wondering the same thing.

Even within the confined, fortified government building, the advisory had stopped its endless arguing when the strange whispering was heard in the distance.

_*let the bodies hit the floor*_

It kept repeating.

"Ackerman, head outside. Shut up whoever is making those demands." Aurille groaned.

Kenny didn't move, though.

The idea that the words were, in fact, demands somehow made him a bit nervous and he figured he had a decent idea of what was about to happen.

…

The words arriving from the darkness of the capital came off as evil if anything, angry as the demand repeated yet again, and the MPs were unsure of what to do.

They had stopped loading their cannons, the men turning their attention down the street, where the sound was coming from.

That first volley had extinguished every light and the street now stood pitch black in the night sky.

All except for the ghostly whisper demanding without end-

_*let the bodies hit the floor*_

The men froze there for a moment as the demand came yet again, as if there was a demon out in the darkness, whispering its demands.

Slowly getting more impatient despite the tone not changing when repeated.

Slowly getting angrier even if the voice wasn't getting any louder.

Slowly building up to-

_*let the bodies hit the…*_

A pause, a noise unlike anything they had heard before, something like metal crashing on metal, only different, and then…

_***FLOOR!***_

The almost demonic scream was followed immediately by the dark city street suddenly lighting up with fireflies moving at lightning speeds the MPs now knew was gunfire from the Americans.

Off in the opposite end of the street, the Strykers were firing everything into the fortifications, bullets tearing holes in the woods and metal the MPs had thought would keep them somewhat safe, and perhaps against other muskets, the wooden walls might have held.

Modern ammunition had no qualms about thin layers of wood and metal, unfortunately.

"S-steel yourselves! Fire back!" an overly loyal officer tried to shout before the top of his head was torn clean off by a larger round.

Some of the men managed to peek up and fire blindly into the streets.

Jake watched the destruction mere bullets were capable of delivering and shook his head.

"Didn't have to be this way, dumbass." he mumbled to no one in particular as the music carried on the speakers.

The Ranger next to him fired another shot.

…

Matt took several measured breaths as he lowered his NVGs once more.

The darkness of the alley was perfect, and the motel owner had been more than happy to lead him back there after the building had been hit by artillery by the MPs.

Now he could see the MPs approach if they did, but they would only be able to see him once their torch lights got them well within range of his M4 carbine.

No need for the M203.

He had counted 3 of them, and to make it better, they were bunched up.

"…think he might have gone in here." one of them said.

He heard another mumble something, probably an order, before he heard the hammer of their flintlock muskets click on. Matt proceeded to move his finger closer towards the trigger.

Ian hung behind his two subordinates.

This was an easy spot for an ambush, even if the American kid was injured. Now with the main attack under way, he knew he had to be extremely cautious, and pray the fortifications did their damage on the Americans assaulting them.

The ever present sound of distant machine gun fire churned his stomach.

_Those repeating rifles are dangerous… we must-_

Gunfire erupted from the end of the alley, quick, mechanical, loud, and merciless.

He saw the guy to his left fall to the floor without even raising his rifle to react.

That alone sprung him into action.

The second man managed to raise his rifle just as the second 5.56 round slammed into his chest, dropping him to the paved ground below, a bloody mess.

As the second man hit the ground, Ian had jumped as high as he could, which in reality was about three feet, but that wasn't his end goal.

He clicked the trigger on the grips of his ODM gear, firing both cables straight down the dark alley.

A third shot rang, more than likely aimed at him, but it was already too late.

He saw the right cable connect with the wall on the opposite end, perhaps striking some metal as it created a small line of sparks that revealed where the second cable had landed.

It hadn't been perfect, but the simple invention worked properly enough, and the second cable had hit the American's rifle, disarming the enemy!

Ian concentrated as he used his gear and launched himself at the American, crashing into the soldier and knocking him into the wall.

Matt felt like two walls had run into him at once before a powerful force slammed into the side of his head, causing his ear to ring.

He instinctively kicked with his right leg, and pushed with both his arms, the M4 now on the floor somewhere. The problem of him being heavily protected meant his more nimble opponent could hit more often, and he needed to change that by shoving him back and putting some distance, any distance, between them.

_Brawls were rarely organized._

Both soldiers knew this, as they reached for their individual weapons.

Military blades were long, meant to either break little by little when engaging titans, and in order to properly stab a person with one, Ian knew he needed some range.

Ian shouted "_**Die, invader**_!" as he reached for his blades, grabbing one and swinging it at the American with almost inhuman speed.

Matt didn't say anything as he reached for the new pride and joy of United States Army handguns, the Sig Sauer M17.

He swung it in the general direction the MP was and simply pulled the trigger, praying 9 millimeter Luger was faster than the blade racing towards the unprotected arteries on his neck.

…

The smoke was the most annoying thing, the CIA woman decided as she gently squeezed a three round burst from her AAC Honey Badger, the .300 AAC rounds instantly finding their targets, two unfortunate MPs who had just fired their muskets at her to no avail.

It was sad, really.

Those old rifles performed well enough, did what was asked of them, maybe even a little more, but the men she and the others were facing were completely panicked. Of the two, one had actually shot the rifle into the floor by accident while the other one had not even taken a second to aim, just lifting it up and firing in her general direction. She would have spared them, but the pair immediately went for their blades; a big no-no if you wanted to survive a police raid, let alone a warzone.

All that musket fire had accomplished was an annoying smoke screen that made visibility a touch less than optimal.

Not that she cared.

If anything it was kind of odd. Had the Military Police just rounded up a bunch of conscripts and gave them the oldest rifles they could find? They were nothing like the trained men that ambushed the convoy earlier, or the ones fighting the others outside.

Certainly nothing like the guy charging at her from the opposite room- _oh damn!_

The taller man jabbed a knife directly into her Kevlar, cutting through it annoyingly quickly, but not quick enough.

The man jerked aside as a 9 millimeter round entered his head, doing unthinkable things to the interior organ before the body even hit the floor.

She nodded at the SAS member who kept his MP5 level as he continued down the hallway.

She made sure the knife didn't cut anything vital… it didn't, and began moving on.

An explosion rocked the room a few yards down the hall and she saw Crow and two other SAS guys walk into it one after the other, no shots being fired.

Her own Delta guys said "we're clear on the second floor." over the radio.

"First floor clear." another Delta guy said.

Crow walked out of the room and gave her a signal.

"Third floor clear." she said into the radio.

Not that it sounds like it is…

Outside, gunfire was occasionally emphasized by random cannons being fired by the Military Police, not that it mattered to anyone.

It was sad, really.

The MPs were bellowing a steady line of multiple pops that would immediately be responded by the almost unhinged crackle of modern firearms and their ability to let off more than one round per trigger pull.

Knives tried fighting guns, musket tried fighting automatic rifles, and tiny handheld shotguns tried fighting long raged snipers.

The only thing the MPs had going for them was their gear, but even that was quickly proving useless in a head on fight. What was the point of being able to move so quickly if they couldn't even peek out of their makeshift fortifications?

She imagined a few brave idiots tried to fire their hooks into the Strykers or MRAPs only to get shot down by the remote controlled machine guns each carried from a mile away while the men killing them sat safely inside the armored vehicles.

_Too bad, who told you to try and fight us?_

"Right, all teams move to the main hall. Lieutenant Troy, you can cease fire over there."

"Copy." she heard, and then the machine guns stopped firing.

A few of the muskets didn't, but it didn't matter anymore.

Once inside they found the Captain and the young cadets nervously smiling slightly as the Special Forces opened the doors.

The advisory was tied in the plastic wires the Americans had brought with them, silently glaring at them.

Crow asked "How are you gentlemen doing on this fine night?"

Silence.

Levi said "They've been quiet ever since we tied them up. I doubt they know much of anything we can use."

Kenny chuckled, saying "You could always use, err… what did you call them, missy? Enhanced interrogation techniques?"

The CIA woman didn't reply, simply asking "If we parade you at the soldiers outside, will they stop fighting? Or do we need to parade your heads on pikes first?"

Silence.

"Killed a lot of your people today... Smart, I'll giver you that. Kill a bunch of civvies, blame it on us… might have worked, too." she said, pausing before a serious look in her eyes manifested. "That was a lie, you never stood a chance. Now, tell us where Rod Reiss took our shifters."

"_Your_ shifters?!" Deltoffe demanded.

"Yes, _our _shifters. They belong to us now, not you, or Marley, or whoever. We could have worked out a better deal if you hadn't tried to kill us all, but that's not what happened. You can either cooperate and maybe we will find a place for you, blame it all on the big bad tyrant you call a king, make you look better… or you can stick to your guns and spend the rest of your life somewhere you hate."

She ignored the look Jean was giving her when she suggested keeping these guys around.

Aurille said "Do what you must. We will never betray our king."

Levi shook his head, saying "Whatever, come on, let's get those idiots to give up."

Crow said "Good idea... poor sods."

The CIA woman simply shook her head and turned to walk away when Jean of all people grabbed her hand.

"Wait, what about finding Historia and the others?"

"Ackerman gave us a possible locations, we're waiting on the helicopters to get here."

"Shouldn't we force them to tell us? We know Eren is in danger." Armin added.

"Yeah, and if I had a car battery, cables, some pliers, and access to an audio recording of the first draft of _Sex and the City_, I might be able to mentally break them, but they will _never_ tell us anything that may betray their precious king. Kenny is 90% sure Eren and the others were taken to this…. chapel out there, so all we can do now is wait for our transports to get here. Just how it is." she said with a sigh.

Armin understood, but it did little to ease his worries.

Mikasa was barely coping with the fact that Eren wouldn't live more than 8 years, if she lost Eren before that… he wasn't sure her heart could take it and he didn't want to even _risk_ the possibility of losing both family members so soon.

All he could do was wait.

…

Historia stared sadly at the still unconscious Ymir, the girl was sat on a wooden chair, with two guards holding her so that she wouldn't fall.

"Historia, you need to make your decision soon. Every second wasted makes it easier for our enemies to reach us." Rod said.

"The Americans have only been kind to me, father… I want to hear what Ymir has to say."

She remembered the girl saying _I'll support you no matter what _less than a day ago, but did that still apply now? What if, deep down, a part of her actually _wanted _to believe her father?

What if a part of her wanted to

"I understand, Historia, but if we don't hurry they may try something and you'll be forced to make a decision under pressure, or worse not be allowed to make a decision at all."

The girl glanced at her father, wanting to know how she could trust him for sure.

Then she remembered something she had read about.

She thought about it for a moment before deciding to bring it up.

"I… read in a book the people from beyond the gate wrote into our alphabet about… about a king and queen from those lands."

Rod gave her a confused but patient look.

Historia remembered the story and smiled slightly.

"They were at war with a powerful enemy that had conquered much land, defeating their allies as well, and their empire was now fighting them almost alone."

"They had a vast empire?" Rod asked.

"Yes, the largest their world has ever seen. Which is why the military officers begged the king and his royal family to flee to one of their colonies, away from the fighting. The enemy, you see, was destroying their cities; specifically attacking civilians, and the safety of the royal family wasn't guaranteed."

"Did they flee?"

"No. Even when they were directly attacked by the enemy- their castle bombed… they stayed. They wanted to show the people that they cared about them; that they were in this together…"

Rod nodded.

"I understand; it is important to show leadership during times of crisis. That is why the true royal family remains hidden away, Historia. Why we work with the people without them knowing we are royalty. It lets us know things are working properly or if something needs to be changed. What we do, how we do things… it ensures humanity survives. Say what's in those books you read was true; and humanity beyond the walls isn't extinct, but is instead out to destroy us all… then the wisdom of the Founder is needed now more than ever. If what I have been told and taught since I was a child is false, then we must confront that reality and change accordingly… but Historia… there is only one way to do that."

The blonde girl glanced at Eren.

The young man hadn't struggled or argued at all after she saw his memories.

She couldn't see his face, so she approached him.

"Historia? What are you doing?"

"E-Eren?" she asked quietly.

The boy looked catatonic.

His eyes were open as wide as they could, unblinking, staring at something in the distance; a horrified expression carved into them.

"Eren… what if… what if my father is right? What if the only way forward is-"

The boy suddenly turned to look at her, beginning to struggle, making muffled shouts.

Perhaps out of concern, Historia moved to release the gag keeping the young man from biting his tongue in order to transform.

Rod stopped her.

"Historia, wait… he could transform into a giant and destroy everyone here… unless you use this."

Rod handed the girl the syringe with titan spinal fluid.

Historia eyed it.

Eren responded by screaming louder, eyeing her with desperation.

Historia went to remove the gag, but before she could do that, Eren suddenly moved his head forward, causing Historia to accidentally touch his face.

A tiny, almost undetectable spark emitted from the point of contact.

Rod saw it and paled.

_No…_

Historia looked at her hand for a second before turning back to look at Rod.

Her father.

The man who was trying to convince her to carry on the royal line.

"Father… who was Frieda?"

…

It turns out that 9 millimeter Luger is much faster than any sword swing.

Matt gave a tired wave as a few soldiers carried the dead MPs away.

"Mike was a good man… shouldn't have died." Dave sighed.

"This entire fight didn't have to happen. We could have avoided it all if the damned royalty bothered to talk." Matt groaned.

"Maybe, maybe not… now hold still." he added, working on stitching closed the large cut on Matt's shoulder.

Up in the air, the sound of helicopters was heard.

"Any word on the missing kids?" the somewhat injured soldier asked.

"No, but I hear the spooks are commandeering a Blackhawk to search for them somewhere."

Matt looked around.

The city had been damaged, but it looked nothing like he had expected.

The dead bodies were mostly of the few Military Police officers that were brave enough to fight back, the only American casualty of the night engagement had been the Army Ranger Matt had been working with.

But the city wasn't on fire, damage had been, compared to other battles both here and across the gate, minimal, and the situation was under control.

All that was left was to care for the wounded and bury the dead.

"What do you think happens next?" Dave asked, finishing up his amateur knitting on Matt.

"Not sure, but things back home are probably going to erupt once news comes across. Hopefully it'll benefit us."

_Although it's just as likely to screw us and everyone here over… God, we lost a US Representative…_

"You think the King has any other cards up his sleeve?"

Matt shrugged.

"Not sure what else he can do other than hide in all honesty."

…

"Historia, what are you talking about?" Rod began to ask.

"You wanted to tell me the truth, then why did you hide Frieda from me?"

Rod thought quickly.

He had known his eldest daughter had visited the younger Historia both before and after she took control of the Founder. He knew his late daughter had used her ability to manipulate memories to erase herself from Historia's own, and he had made sure that showing his daughter the memories of Eren Yeager didn't bring up Frieda.

But why did Historia seemed bothered by this?

_And how did Yeager push her to unlock those memories?_

It didn't matter.

"Frieda Reiss… She was your half-sister; a kind, wonderful young woman with dark hair. She must have used her powers to lock your memories of her away to protect you. I didn't know she was visiting you, but it doesn't surprise me. She always liked to go out on the farms and talk with the locals, do what she could for the people… until his father stole her from us."

Historia glanced at Eren.

"Father… I saw… I know she inherited the Founder, but if she cared about humanity, or at least the people… then why didn't she use her powers for that? Why stay hidden? Why not try to benefit them in other ways- why… why did I not remember her when I saw his memories earlier but now… why all the secrecy? Father… what are you not telling me?"

Rod glanced at Yeager for an instant before, glancing at the syringe in Historia's hand. He gave her a sad look before speaking.

"Like I said, only the Founder can know for certain, but I will admit that there is some worries that my brother and I had back then as well. See, our father held the Founder for a time, and we begged him to end the threat of the titans for good… but he never did, nor did he explain why. So… my brother, the heir, promised me to destroy the titans once he had to carry the Founder… but he never did; neither did Frieda. It's also possible she locked your memories of her away in order to spare you from this very moment."

A memory flashed across Historia's mind.

_When I grow up, do you think I can be just like you?_

She remembered the young woman appeared happy to hear that, but also…

"She… wanted to protect me from this?"

Rod approached her, deciding to gamble it all.

"Those who inherit the Founder adhere to a will that is not their own, and while the person remains… they are-"

"Slaves."

Eyes turned to look at the blonde woman that had entered the chamber with a large group of MPs armed with the anti-personnel variant of the 3D maneuver gear.

Rodd narrowed his eyes.

"Caven, I ordered you to stay out of innermost chamber."

"Cut the kid loose, grab the princess and the other girl." she ordered, three men stepping forward.

"Caven?"

The woman ignored the king.

"Caven, you cannot-"

"It has gone far enough, sir. We cannot allow you to ruing our relation to the people from beyond the gate any longer. They want the shifters alive and well, we will deliver them alive and well. Those are our orders."

Rod realized then.

_Ackerman…damn him!_

"Historia, you-"

He stopped seeing that Historia was now holding the syringe to her arm, seemingly ready to push it into the skin and inject the titan spinal fluid.

"Stop! I… I need to know the truth! I'm sure you can wait for that, right?" she ordered, the men actually stopping.

They glanced at Caven.

Caven shrugged before speaking.

"We doubt the MPs back at the capital stand much of a chance in all honesty, so yeah, we have time. Ask to your heart's content, your majesty."

She turned back to Rod, asking "Did Frieda lose her free will?"

Rod nodded.

_Time to go all in…_

"Historia, the power of the founder is not something mere humans can comprehend, let alone control. The Founder chose our bloodline for a reason- they… whoever they were; wish to exert their will through us. Yes, they lose their free will, but gain knowledge of the world from 100 years ago, they gain understanding, the forbidden knowledge… Historia, I am certain the only reason my brother and Frieda did not destroy the titans because they knew that it wasn't the right thing to do… and I believe them."

"But father… we now have the power to destroy the titans! We don't have to rely on the power of the Founder anymore." she said calmly, smiling as kindly as she could.

_No, I can't allow that!_

"Historia, its guidance has gotten us through so much… it is… unthinkable to go on without it, and this boy has no access to it- no true access to the power of… god."

The smile Historia had offered faded quickly, and a worried look appeared.

"Think about it, my daughter. The power to manipulate minds, control memories, control giants… it is through the Founder that we are where are, safe, alive… protected. All is in order when the Founder is in power- just look at what has happened without it!"

Rod took Historia's hand, making sure to keep his vision level with her own as he grabbed the hand holding the syringe.

"My daughter… you and only you can hold on to this power."

"W-why can't you?"

"I mustn't. This power was not meant for me to hold, same as it was never meant for that boy to hold." he smiled as sweetly as he could before speaking.

"It was meant for you."

Historia winced as the needle pierced her skin.

Her eyes widened as realization hit her.

_Oh… another decision made for me… lovely._

She saw her father's thumb slowly begin to push on the injection and she closed her eyes, ignoring Eren panicking next to her.

_As long as it's your decision, ill support you no matter what._

Historia opened her eyes and pushed her father away.

She glanced at the spot the syringe had penetrated, covering the small blot of blood that had appeared there.

"I… have no intention of holding the power of a god."

Rod winced, as if she had slapped him.

"I'll work with what I have… I'll work with everyone to fix what we can… I will find a way to make everything work without the Founder."

"Y-you… you _**can't!**_" Rod yelled.

"You heard her, Rod, I wouldn't recommend-" Caven began, but the man wasn't listening.

"Historia, I promise everything will make sense once you-"

"Father, this is my choice to make!"

The man lunged at her, grabbing the syringe from her hand.

"I promise, you'll understand if you just-"

She shoved him away with ease.

Despite her small size, she had trained along the likes of Mikasa and Annie, experts in hand to hand combat.

Rod saw he was no holding on to the Syringe, but not his daughter.

"Father, please… it doesn't have to-"

"They have brainwashed you, can't you see?! What we have done for so long has worked only because of the Founder! The people beyond the gate are alone! They have no god to speak to! We are not, and for you to be so ungrateful as to reject our god… I will never allow it!"

_It's not up to you!_

"Miss Caven fire!" Historia ordered, shutting her eyes tight.

The blonder woman didn't have much of a reaction; she simply lifted her hand cannon at the man she had served for so long without a hint of regret.

The distance certainly took some of the force away from the shotgun pellets, but it still was still as deadly as a gunshot can be.

Rod almost fell forward, the pellets form the hand cannon impacting his side and destroying his left lung instantly.

He collapsed to his left, and fell from the top of the altar, crashing to the crystal floor below, the syringe he was crying shattering along with his skull and spine.

"Alrght, carry the sleeping girl out of here, your majesty, I suggest you go along with them." Caven ordered, grabbing several keys and beginning to walk up the steps.

Historia glanced at the MPs now carrying the unconscious Ymir away, the sleeping girl seemed to get a stupid grin on her face as the men carried her away.

"Hmmph... Historia- heh-heh..." the unconscious girl mumbled as she was moved.

Historia briefly considered slapping her awake, but shook her head, walking up to Eren instead.

She removed the gag keeping him from speaking.

He didn't say anything after she did so.

They were both quiet for a moment.

"How did you know about Frieda?" she asked as Caven began to unlock Eren from his chains.

"I… I don't know… I just… do you think this was the right choice?"

She sighed, saying "I don't know… but… is sacrificing our freedom worth it?"

Eren stood up, glancing at his hands.

He wondered if the blood his father spilled in that very chapel answered the question.

Was freedom better than order?

Fifteen meters down, Rod lay staring at the ceiling.

There was a single MP, eyeing him, a meter or so away.

Behind the man, he saw two others carry the unconscious Ymir away.

Above him, his daughter and the traitors were releasing Eren Yeager, destroying any chances of a royal member of the family ever receiving the Founder again.

His plans had failed spectacularly.

He glanced at the shattered syringe in his hand.

There was a small amount of titan spinal fluid left, dripping from the tips of the jagged glass that had contained it mere moments ago.

It was hard to see now that his vision was fading quickly.

_Frieda… Uri… I'm coming._

Perhaps by accident, perhaps by choice, he cut himself on the jagged glass, and a molecule of pure titan spinal fluid made contact with his own blood.

Eren felt it first, the subtle change in the air as the temperature began to rise.

"What is- Oh, f-" Caven began before a large explosion of light enveloped the underground cavern.

Eren noted that this was not like his own transformation, which involved an explosion as the mass of the titan grew around him, this felt more like a glowing giant was expanding little by little.

But he kept growing.

And growing.

And growing.

_H-how big is he going to get?!_

Rocks began to fall and Caven and her men had dragged the two teenagers to the far end of the chapel, practically sticking to the walls.

"How big is he?!" a man shouted.

"That's… bigger than the colossal…" Eren breathed.

Historia stared on in horror.

"Captain, any ideas?" another man asked Caven.

She said nothing as a large rock fell not too far from them.

Eren looked around, noticing something near the stairways.

A briefcase.

Suddenly, as if aware of something, he ran for it.

"Kid! What are you-?"

Eren grabbed the briefcase and ran back to the slightly safer are near the end of the chapel as large rocks continued to fall.

"That's… my father had the syringe in there." Historia said.

"Yeah, I… I think… I think there's something we can use!"

Historia noted several small containers that Eren was digging through and kneeled down next to him to search.

"What are you kids doing?!" Caven demanded.

"This!" Eren shouted.

A small vial with the words "hardening" written on it.

"How are you-?"

As iff to answer the question before she had even asked it, Eren stood up, ran at the still growing giant and threw the vial into his mouth, biting down on it.

Then something bizarre happened.

A large explosion of light materialized, but the larger, ever growing mass that had been in front of them ceased on its own.

Then the walls around them broke apart and the whole cave collapsed into itself.

…

Eren opened his eyes in shock.

"Well, he isn't dead at least." the MP mumbled as he dragged Yeager from the gigantic statue.

Eren looked above him, seeing sunlight break through the large cracks in the ceiling.

Him transforming into a titan had held up a large chunk of rock and dirt, a hard crystal like substance had spread around it, stopping it from crushing the small group of people below and granting them an exit.

Ahead of him lay nothing but rock and dirt, the large cave completely collapsed.

The men pushed him out through the opening above and Eren could see the insane amount of damage.

It was as if the ground had taken a breath before collapsing in on itself, grassy mounds of dirt and stone pointed and broken lay at odd angles.

He looked around, seeing Historia pushing some of the rocks aside.

"Ymir!" she shouted as two other MPs seemed to be searching as well.

Eren saw Caven groan as she stood up from where she was sitting.

"You… you're the MP who-?"

"Yeah, I was conspiring along a few others to bring the king down a long time ago. If you have anything to say or ask go ahead, changes nothing now." she said with a tired sigh.

"No, i… I guess I want to thank you… you saved us back there."

She scoffed, saying "You saved our asses just a few minutes ago! If you hadn't held up that large chunk of earth the way you did, we would still be stuck there… like that poor girl."

Eren shuddered.

"Could your men have gotten her out through some other exit?"

"Doubt it.. they were right next to that… thing when it started. What the hell was that titan, anyway?"

Eren wasn't sure, but he dreaded to see it again.

"Whatever… maybe the Americans can help dig them out once they get here, assuming it isn't dead… which may take a while."

He looked around, the green field shining in the early morning light.

A few brids began singing.

He walked ahead, catching up Historia.

"Eren! I… I need you to give us a hand! Can you transform and help us dig? Ymir is somewhere down here, I know she is!"

Eren nodded and began to do just that.

…

"Hill Zero One, we have a visual on a possible shifter, area is within the coordinates given." the pilot relayed.

The CIA woman glanced out of the Army Blackhawk, seeing the remaining shimmer of light in the distance.

_I take it that's what a titan shifter transformation looks like…_

"Right, take us there."

The helicopter banked slightly to the right and accelerated.

A few minutes later they made visual contact with the long haired giant digging through broken earth.

A small blonde began making signals and yelling.

_Does she think we can hear her?_

The Blackhawk landed and the two CIA agents walked out, followed by the two members of the DELTA team.

A short girl she recognized as Historia began to quickly blurt out requests.

"Y-Ymir is still donw there- my father- I-"

"Hold on… I take it you're Caven?" she asked, turning to look at the other blonde woman.

"Yeah, Captain Ackerman send you?"

She nodded.

"Historia Reiss… Eren Yeager… you said Ymir is still stuck down there?"

"Father turned himself into a titan when I refused… he grew larger than anything we have ever seen before, and the cave collapsed. Ymir was being taken outside and… and we haven't found her."

The CIA woman said "Okay… look, we have recovery teams on standby, but right now we need to get you somewhere safe, we need to make sure youre alright, and if the king is dead then we need to get you ready for your coronation."

"Not without Ymir!"

The CIA woman felt her eye twitch involuntarily.

"Of course not without Ymir! ...damn it, maybe…"

She glanced at the Blackhawk.

"Okay, hop on the helicopter, and… hey, Yeager!"

The way the giant humanoid turned to look at her made the American somewhat uncomfortable.

"We need you back at HQ, several of your friends are injured, and we need to make a report on what happened."

Historia gave her a questioning look, but the woman replied quickly.

"It's very early in the morning, the ground is cool… we have some infrared equipment that should tell us where a warm blooded human like Ymir is. Then uh, the MPs over here can work on digging her out."

Caven nodded.

"We have the fuel to spare, right pilot?"

One of the pilots returned a somewhat unsure sounding "Yeah."

"Right, then we circle around, see if we find her, then take her back to Hill Zero One… sound okay?"

A part of Historia knew the woman was just tyring to get her in the chopper since once on the only way out would be to jump.

_But still, if it could help find Ymir…_

A moment later an exhausted Eren and Historia were strapped into the helicopter, with the Delta operatives working on the infrared camera.

"Here we can communicate with this. Push the little button on the side here, okay?" the CIA agent told the blonde MP as he showed her how to operate a radio.

The CIA agent glanced at his colleague, giving her a knowing look.

_Infrared cameras only detect heat from the objects, not what is behind them… but, if she's a titan, then who knows? Maybe it'll give us a clue._

The Blackhawk took off and began to circle around the now destroyed underground chapel.

The CIA woman relaxed slightly, as all that was expected now was for the helicopter to fly in circles until the pilots said "we need to head back now" and Historia would have to forget about her friend until later.

Such was the work of a ruler.

Even a puppet ruler.

She thought about getting some sleep when the Delta operative suddenly said "Contact, there's a person moving near the center of the collapsed cave!"

Historia lit up almost immediately, but the CIA woman only stared ahead, worried.

Gunfire was heard and the radio buzzed to life with Caven's voice.

"It's Rod Reiss! The fat bastard is still a human!"

"…wait… what?"

_If Rod is still human, and he had turned into a titan… no…_

…

On the ground, Caven and her men looked through at the odd figure coming out of the large amount of steam rising from the ground.

Rod Reiss appeared, confused, and worried.

When he saw Caven all he could do was ask "What are-?"

The MPs fired everything they had into the man, severing an arm and leg, and doing ungodly damage to his body in an instant.

Caven whirled around and grabbed the radio in order to relay the message.

Rod sat there, confused.

What had happened?

The last thing he remembered was talking to Historia, and then…

It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

_No… no!_

Without him wanting to, the memories of the girl he devoured flooded into his own, as did the memories of the boys and girls that had held that titan before.

The torture, the violence, the hate…

The images he saw horrified him to the core.

Blood from his wounds seeped into the ground without end, as he realized that he couldn't die either.

Not because he didn't want to, but because now he had a mission.

The same mission his father had passed to his brother, his brother to his daughter… and now the mission fell to him.

Even if he was afraid, he had to try, right?

If this wasn't the will of the Founder, he didn't know what was.

As these thoughts manifested, a low glow came from within him, expanding quickly into a powerful light.

He breathed in.

"It's Rod Reiss! The fat bastard is still a human!" Caven had just finished when someone called her attention.

"Captain, look!"

She would have turned to look at Rod anyway given the bright light coming from his body.

Beams of light spread and blinded her, the large shadow of tentacle like muscles and bones forming from thin air being the last thing she saw as the results of the unnatural transformation engulfed her and her men.

…

The Delta operative shouted "Jesus!" as the infrared camera flared up.

Below them a bright glow erupted before expanding almost endlessly in all directions, the shockwave hitting the helicopter hard.

The Blackhawk was shaken in the air, almost knocked into the ground, but her engines refused to allow such an outcome, the pilot managing to hold the helicopter steady.

It gave his passengers an excellent view of the colossus growing under them.

Tree sized bones formed and muscles wrapped themselves around them as a gigantic hand stretched to the sky.

Historia stared in shock as the hand almost caught the helicopter. Defeat lining her face at the horror stretching towards them.

Then, with a demonic roar that sounded as if the world itself had ripped apart, the smoke and steam cleared and the beast below was revealed.

It measured almost three hundred and fifty feet in length, well over 100 meters long.

It had destroyed most of the field it had been on, now it gave the image that it had been using it as a bed.

A lumbering sleeping god that had just awoken to destroy everything it saw.

Eren stared wide eyed at the monster that was looking back at them.

The Blackhawk banked away and pulled up into the sky.

The CIA woman got off from her seat and got dangerously close to the edge of the cabin.

She then turned and sat down, strapped in, and took a breath.

"Contact Hill Zero One… tell them to ready the flyboys with everything, and I mean _everything_. This fight inst over" she said with a look of anger in her eyes.

Eren returned the same look.

He pushed all the thoughts about his father and what had been done aside.

_Time to destroy a self-proclaimed god._

* * *

**A/N: And that's done! Hope you're all taking care of yourselves, I apologize for the delay, hopefully it was worth it. I also prepared a little something extra called "Freedom's Ring Asides", something short you guys can read if you want that is tied to this fic.**

**That said, I tried to show how Rod would change strategies here, as the character has been a bit of a mystery. **

**I ultimately settled on him being both selfish but honest in his belief that the Founder was a god given his actions in the manga and anime, so hopefully he didn't feel too out of character.**

**Same goes for Historia, as I wanted to show that she is now, officially, thinking for herself, but that it was indeed a struggle for her to do so even with the knowledge brought by US forces and books from England and other countries.**

**You may have noticed Eren being a bit faster to react here, less crying or freaking out. That's because this Eren hasn't had the same losses he experienced in the original timeline weighing down on him, so while he is shocked about the knowledge he received, his priority is to ensure mankind is free, and allowing Historia to give up her free will in order to continue a supposed "safer" route was not on the playing cards.**

**I also tried to show that the MPs are a bit more dangerous than the soldiers from the original Gate cannon, even if they are incompetent at times, but still, all you needed were a pair of armored vehicles, some well-placed snipers, and machine guns to beat them. (plus a bit of inside assistance and underground tomfoolery, but let's not talk about that)**

**Overall, this was a tough chapter to write, so please let me know if anything felt off so that I can improve the fic.**

**On to the reviewer response:**

**Guest- higher body count.**

**Surprisingly, I think this arc killed more characters than the actual uprising. Granted, most of the 104****th**** hadn't been slaughtered in the earlier breach, and the US had been keeping casualties at a minimum, but not only did the MPs surprise the US by attacking civilians, they developed the Thunder Spears and actually got several kills and secretly hid cannons within houses.**

**Now the major military leaders within the walls are dead, along with a US representative, Levi lost half his squad, half the 104****th**** being trained by the US is dead, Hanji lost Moblit and Doctor Hermann, Mikasa is badly wounded, most of the Military Police force within the walls is dead, and finally Rod turned into a titan and devoured Ymir… so now he controls the most powerful titan ever according to him.**

**Humans are more dangerous indeed.**

**Guest- comparing Marley's military with America's military. **

**Compare a World War 1 Army to our current Army and you have an idea of how things would go down, but I do give Marley credit in the sense that they seem to have a concept of tank warfare… they just use titans with armor instead.**

**Guest- US controlling the titans?**

**Maybe the shifters in the sense that they are in charge of them now, but the idea of using humans as biological weapons or sacrificing people in order to hold control of who has what titan power wouldn't sit well with congress… or any world government if you asked me. Same for pushing Historia to have kids for that very purpose.**

**Guest- recording footage of the ongoing incident?**

**The news teams mentioned a few chapters ago had left the capital, so filming the battle was out of the question, but I will confirm that they are still around since the trial wasn't officially due to happen for another day or so.**

**Guest- how long will the uprising arc last?**

**Next chapter is the final part of this arc, and then we move on to another one.**

**Apologies if I didn't answer some questions, like "Is Dina Fritz going to show up?", since those pertain to the future of the story and I don't want to spoil anything. Sorry.**

**Anyway, that's about it for this chapter, thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Remember that any suggestions and criticisms are appreciated and if anything felt off, let me know.**

**Be safe, everyone. Hope to have the next chapter up soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Revelation 13: 13**

* * *

"…and though I walk in the valley of death, I shall fear no evil…" the American chaplain managed to say as a doctor finished cleaning the wound on the dark haired girl.

She was holding in her breath, no anesthetic or pain killers were available, and the alcohol was being used on other, more serious patients, so all forms of fighting against pain were out and the only option was to patch her up with what they had exactly as she was.

_At least the worst is over…_

What was frightening was that the second she woke up, she demanded she be given the "good to go" diagnosis or else she would walk away on her own.

She needed to be bandaged up, she needed to rest, wait for the helicopter transport, but she was restless. She was squirming, seemingly more out of impatience than pain, as if she was going to just walk out of her bed any second.

_And maybe she could…_

Now all the man could do was try his best to give words of encouragement and faith during the bleak situation, for whatever it was worth to the wounded.

"Good girl, we gave you some new bandages, the bleeding has mostly stopped, and you should be right as rain soon. Surely, the strangers have better equipment at their place, but if I can help you… well, you'll be just fine. Stay in bed until then." The doctor said, giving the girl a smile that made it clear there would be no arguing the order.

The girl nodded slowly, glancing at her wounded side before lowering her shirt down and attempting to stand up.

The local doctor and US Army chaplain only managed to say "Hey-hey-hey, easy now!" before intervening and holding her in place.

The girl angrily said "I _need_ to find Eren and Armin! Please-"

To the surprise of the American, even after everything, the girl began trying to get back up.

"Mikasa, stop!" someone shouted.

A golden haired boy ran to them, rifle slung on his back.

"Armin, where is-?" the girl began, but the boy cut her off.

"Alive, but please, you need to do what they tell you! Having broken ribs was bad enough, but you got _shot_ and slammed your head and hit the ground and… and… and you got _**shot**_! At this rate they might discharge you from the military!"

"No, I…" the girl began, for the first time showing visible vulnerability.

The American took the chance to say "Then lie down and take it easy. We have another med evac helicopter on the way with more supplies, and you may be able to get a ride to where your family is. But please, kid, you have to help us help you!"

The girl gave a defeated look at the men before lying back down, staring at the twilight of the early morning.

She glanced at the American who was standing up to leave, but she managed to ask "Did you come up with those words yourself?"

The chaplain turned awkwardly and said "Uh… no, it's an… um… old book from back home… helps us get through the day."

The girl nodded, and turned to Armin.

"Where is he?"

The boy was about to answer when a helicopter was heard in the distance.

Unlike the previous squadron, this one came from the opposite end of the wall.

And it kept going, moving faster than Armin had expected.

"He's with an American team… we'll see him soon." he half lied.

"If those men hurt him…" she said in a quiet voice before closing her eyes tightly, visualizing the unspeakable things she could do to them but wouldn't actually do because they were too inefficient.

_Yeah, I can imagine…_

Armin looked around.

Most of the injured were gone, those that remained weren't exactly in great shape, but certainly not priority cases.

The covered up corpses of civilians and fellow soldiers, however, were a sobering sight.

Half of the 104th had been killed off suddenly, ruthlessly… he still wasn't sure if the members of the royal advisory that they captured had been okay with the attack or just pawns in the violent game of chess that seemed to only escalate as the bodies mounted.

He noticed several journalists from the interior were walking around, some writing what they saw, others asking questions both of what few MPs remained alive and what Doctors were available.

He wondered where the Advisory had been taken to before turning to look at the frustrated Mikasa.

"Armin… what happened?" she asked then.

"Oh… um… we were attacked, the king ordered several MPs to kidnap Eren, Ymir, and Historia… we lost a lot of people…" Armin winced as the words exited his mouth.

He had already known they had lost many boys and girls, but suddenly recounting it, after the situation had calmed down…

He forced himself to continue.

"We… we captured the Advisory and… and the Americans are going to occupy the capital until things get back under control, um… Eren… Eren was taken, but… I heard they rescued him…" he just barely managed to say.

"I… I'm glad… Armin?"

"Yeah?" the boy snapped.

"Thank you. Take it easy, okay?"

The boy nodded, wiping his now teary eyes.

Mikasa Ackerman had managed to keep an almost maternal degree of responsibility between him and Eren, now he had to be strong for her as well.

…

Colonel Parker hopped off the Humvee and ran into the command center, the sun still just beginning to rise above the horizon.

"How's Connor?" he asked once inside.

A Marine officer answered.

"Stable, he was the furthest away from the blast, but still… whatever they hit us with had a yield similar to an anti-tank missile."

Parker grimaced.

Being in the US Army, he knew the importance of information, and unlike the explicitly trained to improvise United States Marines Corps, he preferred having as much info as possible before moving forward.

That was a relatively minor difference between the two military branches, the Marines being trained to be more capable of making things up as they went along in the best possible manner, the Army not too different but often operating with more information and priding itself in "never makes mistakes". Regardless, both groups had to work with information, and what had just happened in the previous hours had changed a lot of what they knew of the walled civilization.

_Or at least, what we thought we knew…_

"Right, what about the damage? How are the wounded?"

The Marine glanced at another officer, the woman simply saying "Most of the wounded we have on base are civilians. Most are stable, and what few US casualties we have are being treated with what we have available here as well as some medical assistance from New York. No fatalities to report, colonel."

"Except for the ones we lost already, right?"

She nodded.

"Any idea how many we lost yet?"

"One of the trucks carrying the 104th was hit hard… some of the cadets were lost during the fighting… we lost… half of the members of 104th that we trained, at least that we confirmed. We lost two drivers, one Stryker was badly damaged, and one Ranger was killed in the fighting… plus, Representative Kelly…"

Parker could only nod as he felt a strong itching on the back of his neck.

The room was fairly calm, with officers and technicians talking, but something was off.

Someone was talking and the tone suggested silent urgency.

He turned in time to see a soldier say "Colonel, we have a situation developing in the outskirts of Wall Rose."

"Our CIA friends?"

"Yes, Colonel. But… Hold on." the American looked frustrated as he messed with the radio controls.

The fact radios had evolved to be better encrypted and not sound quality was not lost on the Army Colonel.

"Well?"

The technician began to say "Something about Rodd Reiss, a titan and-" before getting cut off.

The young man paled.

"Please say again, Birds of Prey…" he said, turning the volume on his radio higher up and allowing others to hear the words.

"Get the God damned flyboys up in the air! Rod Reiss must have injected himself with some… god knows what and now he's half the size of a mountain! Ymir is dead, he must've eaten her since he showed control of his titan form, and so are Ackerman's subordinates! Our Blackhawk is already low on fuel, we are taking Historia and Yeager to Hill Zero One, and I can see the cloud of smoke behind me. I recommend bombing him to hell before he gets smart and tries to sneak away in titan form!"

_If it isn't one thing…_

…

Rod could only stare in horror at the hateful glare coming from the dark haired girl in front of him.

Oh, it was hate alright.

What he didn't know was what he had done to her.

Had he not ordered his men to treat her well whilst he dealt with Historia?

She had been unconscious; there was no need to tie her up anyway, and he knew Kenny's men wouldn't disobey him.

_Speaking of Historia, where was she?_

The girl continued glaring at him, pure unblinking hate reflecting back at him.

And Rod Reiss realized then that the hatred was his own.

And then he woke up.

The hateful glare from the dark haired girl was replaced by the bright, cloudless blue sky.

What little respite that gave him was immediately replaced by the fear of him not remembering anything that had happened.

Had he not just been talking to his beloved daughter?

He was so close to bringing back the Founder, the living god of this world, back into it, and yet…

He remembered that he was a noble, a man with royal blood… nobody took his memories away from him, not if he could help it.

He called to them.

Horror filled him once more as the memories shot back into his mind.

His daughter had betrayed him.

_Everyone_ he had trusted had betrayed him!

The squad he had confidently selected to guard him had pulled the trigger, his own daughter had given the order to fire, and the military officers were doubtlessly now cooperating with the enemy- those who wished to subvert the will of the Founder- of _the_ _living_ _god!_

He managed a pitiful, despairing, moan.

"Oh, gracious! He's awake!"

Rod shifted, only now realizing that he was lying on a cart that was moving somewhere.

A woman, more than likely middle aged give or take a few years, hopped back into the wooden cart's rear, working through several empty baskets before reaching him.

"Mister, do you have any idea what happened?"

Rod managed to groggily ask "Who are you and… where am I?"

The woman blinked, but before she could respond a second voice interjected.

"Not too far from Orvud District. You were wondering around an empty field all confused a little ways back. Don't you remember us picking you up?"

It was a man, definitely middle aged, and Rod saw he was wearing a straw hat.

_Farmers…_

"I… apologize, I… I believe the smoke I inhaled didn't help my… journey. That whole field was on fire, huh?" he said, trying to change the subject.

"Sure looked like it. Let me tell you, I never seen nothing like that. Smoke was white as snow- and the grass looked entirely scorched… then we get there and there's not a hint of ash anywhere aside from the burnt grass. You see what happened?"

"Uh… yes… yes, the whole field just… caught fire- the grass… it… I don't know how to explain it." Rod lied, still staring at the sky.

The woman handed him some water he graciously accepted, before gulping it all down.

"Whole field lit up, huh? Well, crazier things have happened. Were you heading somewhere, mister?"

Rod thought about it for a moment, still struggling with the thought of his daughter betraying him like she did.

"Yes, I was headed to Trost to meet with some business partners… I had packed light, which let me run from the flames… seems I lost my supplies, unfortunately." he finally said.

"Trost, huh? Well, we're not heading for Trost right now, just delivered something to a friend a little ways away from Orvud and were headed back home. Hey, Sunny, you know if any of the guys have a trip to Trost?"

The woman seemed to frown at the implication she would know what the other men in their village would be doing, but simply replied "I Haven't heard, but I could ask."

Rod blinked.

"Sunny?" he asked the woman.

"She's my sunshine!" the man hollered.

The woman nodded slightly.

"Sunny Springer, at your service."

Rod nodded and asked "Where are you from?"

"Ragako Village." the pair replied almost in unison.

…

The UH-60 Blackhawk continued flying as the sun climbed higher into the sky.

Eren Yeager and the girl formerly known as Christa sat motionless, one staring at the land spreading infinitely below him, the other staring at her feet.

The news had not been good other than the fact that the advisory, essentially traitors, had been taken into custody, seemingly ready and willing to cooperate, but even that wasn't without a cost.

Eren took comfort in knowing that at least Armin and Mikasa were alive, the former actually helping in the engagement that ended hostilities within the capital, and even if she was injured, at least Mikasa would be under the care of the best doctors within the walled enclaves of humanity and whatever miracles the medicine the people from the other world could bring in.

But it was clear that was it for good news.

Eren eyed the blonde girl next to him as the helicopter continued to fly towards the American base.

Historia looked like she had been punched in the face.

He wanted to talk to her, say _anything_ that could comfort her, but what was he supposed to say? The last few hours had been too much.

Ymir was gone, as were half the guys they had all trained with.

The capital was in chaos, the advisory in American custody, their fate uncertain even _if_ they cooperated.

The king, a monster, _his_ fate was certain.

Nobody was about to let that man live, and Eren knew it as well as Historia.

Worse, nobody knew what could happen to the power Rod had stolen. Would it disappear forever? If not, then how long before it manifested yet again? If it manifested again, would it be a threat?

_Unknown…_

"How are you holding up?" Eren finally asked Historia.

"I… finally got to meet my father and I ordered his death on our very first disagreement…" she said, her soft voice barely audible over the radio, the roar of the spinning helicopter blades nearly drowning her out.

The girl looked emotionally exhausted.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Odds are he would have killed you too had Kenny's men not been on your side from the get go." the CIA woman said.

Historia spoke to the woman then, asking "Do you have a name?"

"Yup."

There was an expectant pause.

"I ain't gonna tell you, your majesty, sorry."

Historia studied the woman for a second before quietly speaking in a defeated tone.

"Yeah… I guess that makes sense… even now I have no control over myself."

"That's a lie! Everyone has some degree of control over their actions!" Eren found himself countering before turning to the CIA woman and saying "And she _is_ the queen! Can't she order you to tell her your name or something?"

The older woman said nothing.

Historia perked up briefly, eyeing Eren.

"I guess being queen means I technically outrank you now… but I won't order you to reveal your name." Historia said, smiling slightly, but clearly not at her authority.

The CIA woman was silent for a moment.

She looked at the mostly empty fields below before turning back to the two teenagers.

"We're going to have a lot to discuss once we land, your father really…" she paused for a moment, looking for the right words before saying "…got in the way."

Two jets Eren recognized as the new Marine F-35s flew past the UH-60 Blackhawk.

Eren wondered if they had the firepower to take down the beast they had left behind.

_Surely a targeted strike on that massive nape would kill him…_

As the UH 60 landed, he saw the signs of the relatively small battle that had taken place at the base.

Some smoke was still rising from the little prefab building that had been blown to bits.

Ilse Langnar ran up to the chopper and gave a halfhearted salute before quickly saying "Your majesty, right now the situation is under control, but all heads of the military are dead and we are waiting on other high ranking officers to arrive!"

Historia blinked.

The CIA woman shut her eyes, taking a small pen drive from her vest, before saying "Miss Langnar, take this drive to Colonel Parker, it has pictures of Rod Reiss in case the bastard manages to get away from the flyboys. If Miss Hanji Zoe is here, she should also look at the pictures of his titan form... assuming she's able to."

Now Ilse blinked, but quickly nodded and did as was told.

Historia shakily said "Things really got out of control…"

Eren noted the girl was awash of color.

Instead of faltering, though, Historia walked ahead and asked "How organized are we?"

The CIA woman said "First of all, you kids get medically checked out, _then_ you can take the role of queen or whatever. I have other things to do."

The woman took a left turn and disappeared into a building, leaving the pair with the Delta operatives who lead them to the medical bay.

Eren glanced at Historia briefly.

The girl had developed a determined look in her eyes in spite of the visible weariness.

Meanwhile, the CIA woman walked towards the entrance to the gate, getting there on foot soon enough.

She got on a satellite phone she carried around, the device just barely connecting through as she made a call.

A woman answered on the other end.

"I heard about Kelly already, but I want to hear it from you."

A pause.

"It's true. Director, if this gets out-"

"It's already out… we're sending in another representative to help coordinate things."

The CIA woman said nothing.

"It was our screw up. We knew about the hostilities and possibility of an attack but underestimated them. It's that simple." the director sounded exhausted, hell everyone she had seen since they landed _looked _exhausted.

"We didn't underestimate them, ma'm, we reacted accordingly given the information we had at the time."

"Regardless, we lost people. Things are a mess on this end, so do me a favor and don't let the replacement die, okay? President wants this solved quickly."

"Okay, I understand… who are you sending?"

"He is probably waiting for you as we-"

The CIA woman whirled around upon hearing footsteps approach her.

"If you're talking about replacing Representative Kelly, then the answer is me." a cold, dead voice surprised her.

She eyed the pale young man who looked too young to have any position outside an internship and spoke to her director "Bit young, don't you think?"

"Things are a mess over here. Keep him alive."

The CIA woman nodded to no one and studied the young man standing in front of her.

He was staring at her with a cold look in his eyes that screamed exhaustion, and unwillingness to put up with any games.

A man with a mission.

"Well… howdy! You got a name?" she asked, invoking as much southern hospitality into her smile as she genetically could.

"Daniel Caine, now what's the _exact _situation? Report I read was short on details."

…

Kieth Shadis kept his inner turmoil well masked as he got out of the helicopter.

Shiganshina looked well organized and clean after the previous attack. The foreigners- Germans and Japanese doing a very good job of cleaning the place they had painted their flags on.

The district was mostly empty, of course, and he could see the gigantic boulder the American helicopters had brought in to seal the SECOND breach the district had experienced in less than a decade.

A part of him was glad he always maintained a perpetually disappointed look on his face.

The man that hopped out of the helicopter with him kept eying the photographs his partner had given him, and he did not even try hiding the look of anger and fear on his face as they walked towards their destination.

The woman that went by Nurse Joy and her assistant Kyle ran out to greet them.

"Commandant! I-"

The commandant only said "Are they awake?"

"Yes, commandant, we woke them up and gave them an early breakfast. Didn't tell them anything, but Reiner-"

The nurse was failing at hiding her worry.

"Good job, I am sure they will provide our guest with some answers. Don't worry about the 104th. Half are dead, half are alive; better than the alternative if they had faced that incursion of titans by themselves."

Joy stared on in defeat as the men began walking down to the underground dungeon below the barracks.

Down and down the stairs went, eventually reaching the bottom floor where the three captured shifters resided.

He could see the two more cooperative ones already standing by the edge of their cells, staring at them expectantly.

_As for the more problematic of the three and unfortunately the one we want information on…_

The CIA man walked to the end of the hall and turned to Reiner who was sitting in his bed.

Shadis approached him, and said "Silent defiance. He hasn't spoken a word since he was captured. He just lies there, draining resources."

"Right, Reiner Brown-"

"Braun." Shadis corrected.

"Not an issue. We have questions for you and your little merry band of little war criminals, but mostly you."

The blonde warrior turned a deathly glare at the two men, not saying anything.

"What is this _hardening _ability and how long can it be maintained?"

Reiner simply raised an eyebrow.

Shadis said "Braun, talk."

"You aren't my commandant anymore, devil."

Upon hearing that word, the CIA man chortled, saying "Oh, you think _these_ people are the devils? Son, if anyone in this world is a devil, get it through your head that it is the United States of America and its forces. The hell we will conjure is unimaginable even to you, we will make it so that your women cannot breed healthy children, we will make your sons and daughters become _addicted_ to dangerous substances while passing them off as medicine, we will poison your waters to make your lifespans shorter and shorter by the generation, we will destroy your crops and starve your people to death, push them to the breaking point and then some. Figures you guys don't play by the rules, and neither did the guys before you, so why should _we_? Now, are you going to help us and avoid this hell, or are you going to sit there and force us to come up with more ways to torture whole populations? _Please_ pick the second option."

Reiner only said "The people will fight. Do your worst."

"_**Reiner, what is WRONG with you**_?!" Annie yelled from the other end of the room.

Reiner closed his eyes as the girl shouted "We are trying to _**avoid**_ killing more people, why are you making this so hard?! Are you that desperate to get everyone killed?! Didn't you want to save the world?! What about everyone back home?! What-?"

The young man cut her off, yelling over her shrills "_**You think I haven't thought of that?!**_ What's the bloody _point_, Annie?! We already killed hundreds of thousands! We are no longer prisoners or people, we are bargaining chips! All we can do now is make it harder for them to get what they want! _**It isn't much different from what you did earlier!**_ Why are you suddenly getting cold feet?! How many fathers did we kill? How many mothers did we rip away from innocent children?! We can't go back on those actions so we might as well go all the way and see our goal through! _You _failed everyone, Leonheart! Not _me_!"

Silence followed the tirade

The girl actually began to quietly sob.

"Maybe we should ask Annie?" Shadis sighed.

The CIA man was staring at Reiner still.

"Yeah, Annie really did screw up. Cowardly little bitch, right? Ruined things for you?"

All eyes turned to the man.

"You aren't getting on my side by trying to-" Reiner began, now being cut off himself.

"Would you like it if we executed her father right in front of her?"

Reiner turned to look at the man in shock.

Even Shadis was surprised by the question.

"You know, make her pay?"

The girl broke saying "W-wait, the hardening ability, it-"

"No, don't talk, but thanks for proving my point, I was just guessing who I had to torture in front of who in order to get answers. How about the quiet kid? He also betrayed you. He has anyone dear back home?"

Shadis noted Bertholdt go pale.

The CIA man continued, a low, almost seductive voice, saying "We could make them hurt, Reiner. Make them pay for what they did. Hell, they only proved that they could betray us at any moment, but _you _on the other hand are loyal. You follow orders, no matter how gruesome…" with a dark smile, he said "…why should you be punished for something you were ordered to do?"

Reiner was staring at the man in disbelief.

"We want cooperation, Reiner. Not betrayal, not double crossings, not any big gambits where you pit one group against another… we can… oh, bury these two, say you fought tooth and nail before making you our official negotiator for-"

"Enough! Are you _that _desperate to play the role of the devil?!"

With a smile that could only be properly pulled in the darkly lit dungeon, the man said "Who do you think you're talking to? So… how about it? You cooperate? We give you something in return? They get punished, you go home a hero."

"No!"

"Why not?"

Silence.

Shadis sighed.

"Braun, what you did is eating away at you, he knows it, I know it. No one is forgiving your actions, but I know that you three are not monsters who would have done this if you had another choice. You can help us at least start cleaning up the mess you helped create."

Reiner simply slumped as he continued to stare at the wall.

"Was that all an act?" he asked the CIA man.

"I ask the questions here. Now look at the photo and answer the questions."

The warrior sigh and took it, saying "…an abnormal titan."

"Try Rod Riess- the true king of the walled enclaves of humanity or something kidnapped Eren and Ymir, tried to turn Historia into a titan-"

"Is she alright?!" Reiner demanded.

"_I'll _ask the questions, damn it!"

_Not so much of a heartless monster, huh?_

"The point is, Rod used the serum on himself, devoured Ymir and this is the result. Eren mentioned something about a jar that was labeled hardening and he created a diamond like shell after transforming, you're the armored titan… we want answers from you."

But Reiner looked confused, saying "This is impossible… Ymir had the Jaw Titan. She being devoured would never result in… _this_ monstrosity."

"Why is that?"

"While every titan is unique, and every shifter has some unique aspects to their form… it… it's almost always the same design. My armored titan is not much different from the previous armored titan, same for Annie and Bertholdt."

The CIA man glanced at the two prisoners.

The pair nodded.

"So you have no idea about his abilities?"

Reiner said "Hardening is an ability some of us shifters have. Annie can do it, I can do it… the Jaw titan has… a variation, you could say. Its jaw can break just about anything and resist just about anything. Wouldn't surprise me if your tanks had a hard time killing it even in normal form, let alone this… how big _is_ this... Rod Titan?"

"At least a hundred meters tall from top to bottom, could be more though."

Annie shuddered.

Bertholdt swallowed.

Reiner said "Well, then your only hope is the fact that he can't maintain that form for very long."

The CIA man raised an eyebrow.

Bertholdt spoke up quickly, more than eager to help if it meant getting the creepy man out of there faster.

"The bigger the titan, the harder it is for the shifter to keep it under control for long periods of time. We know a shifter that can keep her form for months, and she is an excellent spy, but she is an exception. I can only maintain my colossal form for a short while compared to Annie and Reiner. But we all need to leave our titan form after a certain amount of time."

"What happens if you remain in titan form for too long?" Shadis asked for the American.

Annie said "You can lose control of the titan, fuse with it… maybe even revert back to a pure titan. We don't stick around to find out."

The CIA man grabbed the picture from Reiner and stared at it.

_So, the bastard is likely on the run and at risk of losing control of his mountain sized body that enjoys devouring people… great._

Reiner noted the worried look on the American and said "For a representative of the devil, you sure seem worried."

"For a remorseless killer willing to go above and beyond for his country, you sure seemed worried about what I would do to your traitorous friends."

…

Ragako village was a quaint little place, Rod decided as the cart pulled into a stable where the villagers kept their horses.

The homes were not too large, not too small, the village was not too small, not too large, and a prime example of life within the walled enclaves of humanity, including Wall Rose.

"Papa!" two children yelled as they ran from one house towards the cart he and the Springer pair were on.

"Martin! Sunny!" the man called, hopping from the cart.

Rod glanced at the woman who was also named Sunny.

"My husband really likes that name. Anyway, come along mister- oh, I'm sorry, we never got your name."

Rod didn't have to think to answer.

"You can call me Marcel."

The hairs on the back of Rod's neck stood as he felt something or someone glaring at him from beyond the veil of darkness that was death.

_They're just memories, Rod… just memories… fragments of the deceased… nothing that can touch you._

The woman smiled, and said "well, come along then, Mister Marcel. Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes and you may want to wash up."

The little girl who was apparently also named Sunny looked at him with some degree of suspicion, and the little boy named Martin waved carefully.

Rod waved back.

Thunder roared across the skies and everyone glanced up.

They were almost impossible to see, but high in the sky were two crafts flying higher and faster than any bird anyone had seen before.

Mister Springer began to wave as he yelled "Americans! Think they can see us from up there?"

The kids waved at the passing aircraft, wide smiles at the curious marbles from the other world.

"How do you know it's the Americans?" Rod asked, doing his best to hide his fears.

Clearly those jets were looking for him.

"Oh, our boy, Connie, he's with the 104th training with the Americans, sent us a letter a little ways back where he told us about these air-craft. Harry-errs, he called them. Never seen them, though." the man said, taking his kids by their hands and leading them to their home.

Rod said nothing.

Springer stopped and turned to him.

"Hey, Mister…"

"Marcel." Rod replied, ignoring the dread the name brought to him.

"Well, Mister Marcel… you a merchant?"

"Something like that."

"Well, when do you think the king and his advisory will allow the Americans to start selling their goods on here? A friend of mine saw their medical supplies and said that it is bordering on the supernatural! We could use some of that here, you know."

Rod looked around before saying "I don't know, but I can promise you that if I get any supplies from that other world, this village will be my first stop."

The man smiled slightly, saying "Well, then you come on in. Our neighbor, Charles, he fixed us up some breakfast beforehand. Wife's just reheating it."

Rod glanced up at the sky once more.

The aircraft were just barely audible in the distance.

Rod walked into the house and looked around.

Like many homes in the walled enclaves of humanity, it was small. Mostly one room that was both a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room, and likely two more rooms, one for the children and one for the parents.

Bathrooms were likely outside somewhere.

He looked around the small home, noticed the children were sitting politely, waiting for the late breakfast.

Rod took notice of the limited amount of utensils.

Mister Springer spoke suddenly.

"We weren't expecting guest, but we can spare you some food mister Marcel. I think one of the guys next to the stalls is planning on heading to Trost in a little bit, we can ask him to take you along."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." he replied courtly, and suddenly notice that there were actually five chairs instead of four.

He remembered the boy was with the 104th.

"So… your child works with the Americans?" he asked, taking a seat.

Mister Springer said "Sure does! Sent us a letter earlier this month! Talked about how they have moving pictures, all these strange inventions he had a hard time explaining. It's like they're from the future or something. He said people in that world used to live just like us long ago- without the titans, of course."

Rod frowned, and asked "I heard some in the interior worry about the Americans brainwashing our kids."

A pause.

"First time I hear about it… Connie didn't seem to be any different on his letters. In fact, I think he said his training wasn't that different to what he did before the Americans appeared, right, Sunny?"

The woman brought the re-heated porridge and said "Yes, he said they were mixing their training and the American training. Doubt they would be brainwashing them."

"My daughter was brainwashed…" Rod sighed as he gratefully took the plate of porridge.

He felt his breathe catch as all eyes on the table turned to him.

_Why did I say that?_

He felt eyes staring at him from beyond.

_Or… maybe they can influence you after all, Rod…_

"Is she with the 104th?" Ms. Springer asked, a slightly confused glint in her eyes.

Rod nodded slowly, a lie forming in his mind.

"Different branch, she joined… the Military Police. She was told to serve the king and… she did. She's… different now."

_Miss Caven, fire!_

"Huh… Sorry to hear that."

The table was silent after that, with the exception of the metallic spoons clinking against the metal plates.

A minute later, Mister Springer said "Lovely, meal… I'll be right back. See if we can find you a ride, Mister Marcel."

Rod nodded and glanced at his empty plate.

_Still hungry…_

He froze, noticing something off on his plate.

It was a metal plate, so it wasn't exactly a mirror, but the colors felt off as he stared at the off-putting amalgamation of light reflecting back at him.

"Forgive me, Miss Springer, but… by any chance, do you have a mirror?"

"Um… yes."

"May I use it for a moment?"

The woman nodded, stood up and walked down to one of the doors in the small home.

She didn't even go inside all the way, simply reaching in and grabbing a small mirror that would easily fit into anyone's pocket.

Rod took it and flipped it open, doing his best not to gape at his appearance.

It looked like he had aged a decade.

His hair was a dark shade of grey to the point that he looked more like his father than himself.

Rod cracked a smile and looked into his teeth, pretending to find something before handing it back to Miss Springer.

"Thank you."

The woman nodded, but the action had clearly made her aware of something.

Rod eyed her for a moment, beginning to wonder why she was staring at him as if it was so strange asking for her mirror.

He didn't dwell on it for long.

Mister Springer walked in quickly, saying "Good news, Mister Marcel! Found you a ride!"

Rod nodded and once again said "Really?"

"Yeah, old man Jones. He's headed to Trost to sell some materials to a partner of his. Said he could give you a ride!"

Rod nodded again and asked "You have been extremely kind to me. How can I repay you?"

Mister Springer considered the question, but quickly said "Oh, just do as you promised and make sure to bring us some American products once the king decides they're not illegal!"

Miss Springer added "And do say hi to your daughter if you get the chance. I may not know much, but I'm sure things will work out between you two."

Rod smiled slightly and nodded.

"Come on, I'll take you to Mister Jones."

"Goodbye, Miss Springer, children…"

The boy and girl nodded silently before waving politely.

Rod smiled at them before exiting the house.

They did not have to walk far to find the man who would take him to Trost.

"So, this is guy you were telling me about?" a skinny older man asked.

Mister Springer said "Yeah, says he may bring us some otherworldly products once the king approves them."

The man allowed his eyes to widen.

"This is true?"

Rod nodded with deceptive ease, his mind genuinely worried about the perceived glares he still wasn't sure where they were coming from.

"Then by all means, hop on! Should reach Trost later tonight if there are no interruptions!"

Rod smiled.

A minute later they were on the road, the horses pulling the cart towards the district closest to the Gate that connected both worlds.

…

Parker ignored the small but still overwhelming group of reporters who were at least respectfully silent as he walked past them to the infirmary.

The doctor had already given him the all clear, so he said nothing to the nurse as he walked into the room where Eren Yeager was.

The boy was pacing around, clearly worried; too stressed to sleep in spite of his exhausted state.

Upon seeing Parker, Eren immediately spoke up.

"Have they found him?"

Parker shook his head, moving to a chair in the room to sit down.

Eren cursed under his breath and went back to pacing around, one side of the room to the other.

"You know something I don't, right?"

"Yeah, odds are I do." the boy snapped back without thinking.

The American frowned before saying "Care to share?"

Eren stopped pacing, then said "I saw my old man's memories, what he did to the Reiss family, how the original Founder built the walls… I saw memories of lives I haven't lived. Even if for just a second… don't ask me how, cause I don't have all the answers either."

The Army Colonel said "Well, that's a question for the egg heads… I remember reading something about genetic memories or something, it's not exactly my field. I do want to ask you… are you okay working with the United States Military?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"…things are getting complicated, surely you've noticed."

Eren nodded.

First the discovery of the titan shifters, then the discovery of his father's journals giving details of the world beyond the walls, then the history of Eldia, the titans, the fact that now there was another superpower controlling said titans, and the fact that said superpower wanted people like him dead and buried.

"Well, still… it's not like we have a better option. Only way we stand a chance against the enemies beyond the wall would be to quickly adapt our technology to what they have, and that would take years to do on our own. Like it or not, we need your people if we want to save as many lives as possible. I'm sure Historia also understands that."

The colonel nodded, but frowned.

"What about the titans within the walls?"

Eren winced before loudly saying "We can't possibly use them as weapns! We need to… I don't know, find a way to get rid of titans once and for all, not continue using them as weapons to settle conflicts."

_I'll exterminate them all if I have to!_

Parker frowned.

"But you would consider it an option?"

Eren turned to look out the window, saying "Is there a limit to how far people can go in order to protect those they care about?"

_The moral answer would be "yes". _

Surely, doing "anything" for those you cared about included murdering and torturing innocents.

If it was to protect those you loved, would you do it?

The moral answer would be "no, find another option".

Reality, however, rarely granted that "other option".

One could argue that the human answer to the question was "no, there is no limit to how far we can go to protect those we care about".

On earth, that attitude made for history's greatest monsters as well as its greatest heroes.

It was easy to forget that most atrocities committed out of hatred were also committed out of a deep desire to protect something else.

It was clear Yeager was, at the very least, aware of that fact.

Parker simply said "There are several reporters outside that want to ask you questions. You up for it?"

Yeager asked "How long until Armin and Mikasa get here?"

"Another hour."

"Alright, let's talk to your reporters."

Parker followed the boy out of the room, partly glad to leave the subject he would have to also discuss with the new queen.

Partly worried because he knew it would come up again before the day was over.

They stepped outside, and Parker immediately shouted "One question per reporter! We are still in negotiations with the new government and are trying to organize things, so you will have to wait until later this afternoon for a full report on the situation."

The reporters, investigative journalists from another world who present nodded.

"Alright, now… this is Eren Yeager. He is the first shifter we discovered, as well as one of the four that were originally under our jurisdiction. Who would like to go first?"

A woman with a pale complexion and almost white hair raised her hand.

Parker nodded.

"Anita Sandrine, TV5… what exactly happened?"

Eren blinked.

"Uh… that's a long story… um…" he glanced at Parker, but quickly stared ahead, and spoke as if possessed.

"For the last thousand years there was an empire that dominated this world called the Eldian Empire. They used titans that were controlled by a Founder in order to subjugate, control, and oppress whatever and whoever they labeled inferior while building a grand civilization. A little more than a century ago, the king that held the Founder felt the weight of these past sins and chose to isolate himself here, an island called Paradis. He used millions of Colossal type titans, the same type that destroyed the gate in my district so long ago, in order to build the three walls."

Eren paused, noticing the looks of shock in the faces of the reporters.

Parker didn't say anything.

"Doing so created a power vacuum in the old Eldian Empire. This resulted in the oppressed people taking advantage of ensuing chaos to rip control of the titans' power from the Eldians. Now another empire exists in its place… it is called the Empire of Marley. They have sent the waves of titans against us for the last century and are the true culprits behind the destruction of Wall Maria five years ago! They are the enemy we have been fighting unknowingly for so long. The king made the people-"

Parker placed a hand on Eren's shoulder.

Eren paused and turned to him.

Parker shook his head before saying "Sorry, some of this information is still sensitive and cannot be divulged right this second. What he is saying is, however, true and we have documents to verify that are almost done being transcribed."

Eren then turned to the reporters and said "Yeah… these… documents had information the king didn't want us to see so he… tried to kill us. _That's_ what happened."

The French reporter who had asked the question stared at the boy wide eyed.

She mumbled a quick thanks and stepped back slightly to allow another reporter.

A young man stepped up then and asked "Derek Horowitz, New York Times… Has contact been made with this… Marley Empire?"

"Officially, no, but we captured three of their agents and are currently expanding our field of vigilance. we know they have a dock to the west of Shiganshina, but current situation has made locating it a low priority."

Another reporter stepped up.

"Alexandra Rivera, Washington Post, How exactly does one go about controlling titans?"

"Titans are Eldians… titans can _only_ be Eldians. When Eldian blood comes into contact with titan spinal fluid, or the will of the Founder I guess, they… they mutate into the monsters we have been fighting. Marley just uses the spinal fluid to transform Eldians into titans and then lets them go off on this island. They sense other humans and swarm to them. IF what my dad's journal says is true, then Marley has little control over what these pure titans do." Eren said.

The reporter suddenly tried to quickly ask "So Miss Hanji was-?"

Parker interjected immediately.

"One question per reporter, please." he said.

The woman backed away, replaced by another reporter.

"Lisa Carter, BBC… So Miss Hanji Zoe was correct in her theories… is she… alright?"

Eren turned to look at the Army colonel.

Parker made a face that was difficult to read.

_This is going to be a long day._

…

Levi Ackerman and Mike Zacharias stared at a bandaged up Hanji Zoe.

The Survey Corps officer was sitting up on her hospital bed as she studied the pictures given to her by the CIA woman.

The giant monstrosity in the photos was frightening enough, staring and reaching upwards, as if summoning power from a malevolent force unknown to both man and beast.

"I admit, it makes little sense." she said finally.

Levi sighed.

Mike groaned.

Ilse Langnar said "But it isn't the Founder, right? Miss Historia-"

Levi cut the young girl off.

"For all we know he always had the Founder and Eren only has a part of it… how the hell is that bastard so large? Ymir's titan was not that big even by titan standards."

Hanji said "There _must_ be a reason, but all I can come up with is that it has to do with his royal blood."

Mike Zacharias said "So we are all in the dark, same as our allies; same as our enemies."

Ilse shuddered.

The Americans had brought in so much knowledge, so many advantages with drones, tanks, guns, medicine… but to be back in the dark about this enemy was a feeling she never wanted to have again.

Hanji said "Doctor Hermann did tell me something that might prove positive news, however."

All eyes turned back to her.

"As our experiments with Eren demonstrated, maintaining the form of a titan eventually takes a toll on the user. Stay a titan too long, and the person begins to meld together with it. Slowly losing their humanity, slowly becoming the beast it had been before it devoured an intelligent shifter… We never tested Ymir, but Eren, a fifteen meter type managed to last an hour or so before beginning to lose control, and this… Rod Reiss Titan is far, _far _larger… almost ten times the size."

Levi winced at the implications.

Ilse blurted out "So this Rod Titan could lose control of itself with ease?!"

"I think it is far more likely that maintaining that form for too long will kill him, so he can't use it for too long."

Mike said "Therefore the reason the American jets didn't find him is because he abandoned it?"

Levi said "Huh… so odds are he is planning his next move somewhere. Wonderful."

The stoic captain glanced out the window as helicopters began to land with the injured that weren't in critical condition.

Ilse stiffened, nodded and said "I'll tell the Colonel."

She gave a quick salute and ran out the room.

Hanji sighed.

"Odds are the Americans already figured out that much; we're just backing up their theories with our own." Hanji sighed.

While other American biologists were indeed still around, Hermann had been the one working closest with her and Moblit, and now both of them were gone.

Levi said "Like it or not, your motor mouth has more value now than it did before, so _all_ of this matters. You're no replacement for Erwin, but do us all a favor and at least _try _not to make the man's spirit contemplate suicide."

Like most scouts, Levi had crushed any feelings of grief and loss at the death of his commander to the deepest depths of his being, where they would remain for the duration of the crisis.

_He would grieve later._

The woman chuckled, saying "That's why I appreciate your straightforwardness, captain."

With a sigh, she added "I'll definitely need it."

Mike Zacharias spoke then.

"Any idea who the new line of commanders will be? With the MPs decimated, I doubt-"

Levi said "Kenny Ackerman and his men are going to train and be in charge of the next line of MPs at least until order can be reestablished. Not that it matters with the Americans occupying the capital. As for the Garrison…"

Before Levi could finish the door was pushed open and a young man with sleek black hair and dressed in a suit walked in.

"Hanji Zoe?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Great. If you can walk then follow me, if not, get a wheelchair and follow me. We are going to begin the process making Historia Reiss the official ruler of this land."

It didn't take a genius to note that the man was not in the mood to argue anything, so Hanji kept her question brief.

"Alright… um… who exactly are you?"

The man gave her a tired look and said "Daniel Caine, here to represent the United States of America and its interests. I'm Kelly's replacement."

…

The room was just teeming with the feeling of discomfort as Colonel Parker, Historia Reiss, and Eren Yeager glared at the group of men sitting across from them.

The Advisory to the previous King, the puppets of the Founder, were now sitting across from them.

Puppets with cut strings, waiting for the new master to give them orders.

_But who would the new master be?_

They kept glancing nervously at Eren Yeager, who was glaring at them with a fury that they couldn't hope to match.

Historia noticed, softened her own angry glare and turned to Eren.

"Thank you, Eren, but could you step out for a bit? I think I need to speak to them on my own."

Eren looked hesitant.

Parker changed that.

"The medical transports arrived from the capital."

Eren winced and said "I'll… um… good luck, Historia!" before rushing out of the room.

The conversation between them and Historia was brief.

"You served my father?"

"Yes." the oldest amongst them, Deltoffe, spoke.

"He told you that I am the next in line?"

"Yes."

Historia noticed the men glance at each other, nodding in agreement. Rod _had _mentioned his daughter.

"So you serve me now." she stated.

It wasn't a question, but Deltoffe answered it anyway.

"Yes. Our duty is to the Founder… you are a descendant of the Founder, even if you do not contain it. We are here to serve you, your majesty."

Historia nodded.

Parker nodded.

_Well, that was easier than I thought… puppets do as they're told. _

"Great, now the first thing I want to do is work on a mutual defense treaty between us and the US, and I think we can extend it to as many earth nations as possible. Think we can work on that while we wait for the new heads of the military to arrive?"

Parker gave her an uncertain look.

One of the advisory said "We are here to serve you."

Historia smiled slightly.

Maybe being queen wouldn't be too difficult.

…

Matt finished helping unloading the medical supplies; the Humvee trio had arrived almost alongside the second wave of med-evacs, as they had been replaced by another unit early in the morning and now found itself assisting wherever they could.

There was little time for rest, however, even as he finished assisting with the supplies.

He was unfortunate enough to bump into the young titan shifter Eren Yeager.

_Why the hell are we always on escort duty?_

He pushed the tired thought aside and said "I take it you're searching for your sister-wife?"

"Yeah- what?" the boy replied, too much on his mind to fully grasp the sentiment.

"Come with me…" Matt said, not really in the mood to continue making jokes.

He led the young man past several beds.

Things were under control now, the civilians were mostly resting, the noise of the medical staff going about their life saving duty replacing any pained moans heard earlier.

Odds were that everyone in that room would live.

Matt saw the little speck of yellow hair not too far from the eastern corner.

"Right over there." he said simply, pointing.

"Ah, thank you." the boy said, not asking any questions about the battle.

Matt nodded and watched the young man run to his family.

He glanced at his boots.

There was still some dust from the previous battle on them.

_I need a shower…_

He was oddly aware of how _little_ the deep cut on his shoulder hurt. He would assume it would hurt more, even with painkillers, but he hadn't taken any since that morning.

He walked around aimlessly, looking for an excuse to sit down.

On the corner of his eye, he saw the chestnut haired girl that worked with the stoic captain staring out a window.

She was out of her bed, standing on her own.

He approached her, seriously considering taking her bed for himself, even if for a minute.

No, he knew his mother would've slapped him for even considering it.

Instead he walked to the window and asked "Leg feeling better?"

The girl nodded.

"I'll only be out of action for a few days, which is better than Eld. Better than the rest of my squad…"

Matt glanced out the window.

She was staring at the pair of A-10s, standing by, pilots sitting on the cockpits… waiting for orders to take off.

Matt noticed several men feeding ammunition into the 30 millimeter auto cannon but said nothing.

"Sprained ankle will do that to anyone, same way a bullet will stop just about anyone." he sighed.

The girl glanced behind her, noticing the Shiganshina trio chatting amongst themselves.

"Commander Erwin is gone… still can't process it."

Matt turned and crashed his back into the wall before sitting to the floor.

"God damn it… hadn't really thought about it until you mentioned it. They hit us _hard_."

The girl looked unsure of something.

"You told me something the last time we spoke…"

"People _tend_ to say things when they talk."

"You said you were worried about a bloodbath."

Matt said nothing.

"You Americans aren't used to being on the receiving end of bloobaths, huh?"

Matt frowned.

There was a pause.

"Are you guys going to pack up and leave after this?" she finally asked.

"Not up to me."

"Have you done so before? As a country, I mean."

"Yeah, a couple of times. If the reason for fighting isn't worth the bodies, sometimes we pack up and leave, sometimes we stay for longer than anyone expects."

Petra got a worried look in her eye.

"Do you think…?"

"Not up to me."

The girl paused, unsure of what to say, or ask so Matt spoke instead.

"If it _were_ up to me I would put more troops, secure what we have and protect our allies. I would destroy all opposition, titan or human, and make it clear that there is a new dominating force in this world, and it isn't hungry for people." he said; a hint of anger lining the words.

"It isn't up to you, though." Petra sighed.

She thought about her fallen teammates.

They all had families, loving families, honored that their sons were among the elites, among those who would be almost guaranteed to return from expeditions beyond the walls.

How would they react to the knowledge that they had been killed within the walls by the very people they were trying to protect?

She thought about her fallen commander.

The man had led them through so much, had actually invented a way to take the expeditions further while losing fewer scouts!

The man had a vision for the future of humanity.

She always thought that if her commander was to die, it would be from exhaustion after destroying a horde of titans. Accomplishing _something_ for mankind!

Yet it was his fellow man that had ripped his life away from him.

She forced the emotions threatening to bubble to the surface back down.

She continued eyeing the American aircraft, the flying machines that had made clearing Wall Maria of titans such an easy task compared to previous expeditions.

She wanted to hope those machines would be there forever, not just American, but eventually her fellow scouts.

_Survey Corps Harriers or F 35s, maybe not right away, but… _

She wondered if she could hope for such things in any capacity after that day.

She turned and looked at the towering structure of the Gate that connected both worlds.

"Hey, guy with weak vocal cords?"

Matt glanced up.

"What kind of trucks are those?"

Matt stood up and looked out the window.

His eyes widened.

"M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System." he mumbled.

Petra winced at the low, almost malevolent chuckle that escaped the young man. When she turned, she found herself feeling a sense of worry at the grin on the soldier.

"Steel Rain…"

He noticed the girl wasn't sure what he was talking about so he clarified.

"Those trucks carry some of the best artillery guns we have. Pretty sure a salvo of those can annihilate a titan horde thirty miles away."

"But most of the titans are… so…"

Petra allowed for some hope that their little piece of civilization within the walls wouldn't be left alone.

Several meters away, Eren Yeager was explaining the situation to Armin and Mikasa.

The girl was holding his hand tightly as he spoke.

"He grew bigger than the colossal… it was… insane." he said.

Armin nervously took in the information.

Ymir was gone.

Now Rod remained alone, but deadlier than ever.

A walking disaster, waiting to be unleashed.

"The advisory is probably going to work under Historia for a while." Eren added.

Mikasa finally spoke "They must be punished for their treason."

Armin stated "Unfortunately, they may be more useful alive than in prison or dead, Mikasa. Is Historia planning on a new ruling body or something?"

Eren shrugged.

"All I know is that they will officially make her queen once the new heads of the military arrive."

Armin nodded.

"Which means Miss Hanji will take over for the Survey Corps Kenny Ackerman is going to be, even if temporarily, in charge of the Military Police… what about the Garrison forces?"

"I think the next in line was a captain of an elite unit stationed in Trost."

…

Rico Brzenska followed closely behind Kitz Woermann as the two exited the cart that had brought them to the American base of operation known as Hill Zero One.

The short platinum blonde adjusted her glasses while reading the official report of the situation for the second time since receiving it, the midday sun obscuring some of the letters, but the facts of the situation were clear.

_The heads of the military were dead._

The man formerly holding the rank of Captain was doing his best to look unaffected, but his sunken eyes betrayed him; even when calm Kitz Woermann always looked perpetually worried and paranoid.

Now the man looked worried to the point of sickness.

Still, he managed to speak in a firm enough voice.

"Brzenska, I will rely on you to read the room… I am not used to dealing with these men from somewhere else."

_Or combat in general…_

"But I trust your ability to reason more than my own. Let me know if I am taking any missteps."

Rico replied with a simple "Yes, sir." before entering the cement structure.

Inside were several people and both Garrison officers paused, unsure of what to say or do.

One group of people was glaring at a single person in the room, the others appearing silently neutral of whatever conflict was occurring.

The object of those glares, an exasperated looking and well-dressed young man, glanced at them before turning to the American officer, whom Rico and Kitz knew was an American officer because of the uniform and the fact that he was the only one there wearing the odd patterned green clothing.

"Oh, great… more of them, fill them in, I need a drink." the man said in a hoarse voice, walking to a nearby table and serving himself some water.

The American officer walked over.

"Hello, I am Colonel Parker. I take it you're the captain of the elite defense squads of the Garrison forces, yes?"

Kitz nodded as he said "correct."

"Well, commander, I wish we could meet under better circumstances… unfortunately, this is the hand we've been dealt. We are about to crown the new queen, but-"

"Not unless you concede!"

Rico recognized the shouting man as non-other than Aurile, one of the nobles in the advisory to the King.

The well-dressed young man slammed the cup of water on the table, and walked over to the shorter man.

"We are _not_ here to negotiate any longer, jackass! Only reason you're even breathing of your own volition is because there is a _minute_ amount of use that we can harvest from the disgusting body you convinced the people you brainwashed was an advisory to the king! Shut your God damned mouth and _pray_ I don't hand you over to those who worked closest to Premiere Zachary!"

Rico noticed that Pixy's subordinate, Anka Rheinberger, was standing nearby, a deadly glare in her eyes that was equal in energy as the words spoken by the well-dressed young man.

Aurile was not in the least bit perturbed by either.

"I am merely defending what the queen desires-"

The man cut him off.

"If you think there is an _iota_ of me that cares about-"

A young blonde haired girl in the room spoke then.

_Is that the new queen?_

"Mister Caine, I did ask-"

Again, the man cut off the speaker, albeit in a slightly more polite tone.

"Miss Reiss, we are _not here to negotiate_! Once the current crisis is dealt with we can-"

"If we are going to be allies then I don't understand why we can't settle this now!"

Rico noted the man had balled his hands into fist.

"Because Americans are dead, Miss Reiss. Because there is a person somewhere within these walls that can destroy an entire city just by getting a paper cut. Because the last time we tried to negotiate resulted in _these_ four individuals now serving you allowing the deaths of over a hundred of your citizens. Because the fact is that the United States went about this the wrong way and should have deposed the monarchy the second we found out it had hostile intentions. Because the sooner we get you on that throne in the capital the sooner the population can relax and put their trust in the illusion that things are under control and we won't have an all-out rebellion on our hands. Because stretching this out any further makes the deaths of those we've lost so far be more in vain. Take the crown, have the cameras record it, become the queen, deal with this crisis, and _**then **_we can work out an actual treaty."

Historia replied with "Then… how can I guarantee you won't turn us into a puppet state once I am crowned queen? If we do things your way there is no reason for me to just back off my own promises, same as you have no incentive to keep whatever promises you make today."

The young man got a look in his eyes that chilled Rico to the core.

"Kid, right now… this second even… there is absolutely no reason why we should keep you as even a puppet other than convenience."

"That's a lie and you know it."

"Wrong, it's a fact. It would be harder, more people would die, but not on our end. The result would be the same."

"If what I read about America is remotely true then all that would do is ruin your reputation even more!"

"Which is why we are asking you to-"

Historia cut him off.

"Then let's discuss an official alliance!"

The man sucked in a breath, visibly out of arguments other than the truth.

He looked at the other officers, both American and otherwise.

He turned to Historia and said "We can't do that."

"Why?!" the girl demanded.

"Because we aren't here to fight more wars!" the man finally shouted.

Rico glanced at Kitz, who seemed to shudder at the finality in the statement.

Historia herself seemed to wince at the words.

The man explained.

"Congress… the people in charge back home… they're considering a motion to force the president to pull out the majority of our forces- now, his party _does_ have control of the senate, so maybe we can beat it, but with the current attacks and the media only now getting access to the information regarding them… the point is we need to make it _**clear**_ you need us here or else we may not be able to help you with much ever again."

It was Aurile who spoke, quickly. The man who had so adamantly defended Rod Reiss was now doing the same for his daughter.

"But we _do_ need you! Your weapons defeated the titans! The training you gave our cadets! Without a fighting force-"

The man Rico recognized as Captain Levi interrupted.

"It's not so simple. Help, they can give us, but not if it means a military alliance that results in more of their people dying, at least not without more support from their leaders. That's why Historia can't just sign a paper to make a formal alliance right now. Doing so would be more damaging thanks to _your_ king's actions, do I understand that correctly?"

The young man got a pained look in his eyes, but said nothing.

Historia looked defeated as she said "So we have to prove our worth before we can discuss a formal defense pact."

The man sighed, and finally said "Yeah, that about sums it up."

To Rico's surprise Kitz spoke loudly in spite of his fears.

"Your Majesty, the Garrisson forces under my command are yours to order! We will find this… traitorous king no matter the cost! Rico is one of the most skilled fighters in my team, she can lead our forces in the search of this… Rod Reiss. You Americans won't have to lift a finger!"

_Well, at least his heart is in the right place._

Colonel Parker said "It's not that we can't help you, Commander, it's just that we can't form an official mutual defense pact, which is what her majesty wishes for."

Rico nodded.

"Yes, that would make the walls a recognized country and bind the Americans to come to our aid should outside forces attack. Am I correct?"

She had to remind herself that while they weren't the only humans on the planet, if the papers she had read were accurate, they were still alone in a hostile world.

Daniel Caine nodded, shoving his hands in his pocket.

He spoke then, saying "so… are you going to take the throne, or what?"

Historia closed her eyes for a moment.

She opened them and said "Alright… let's do that. But I want that mutual defense pact to be discussed immediately after this."

Caine nodded, but Rico recognized the nod.

_No promises…_

"Alright, let's get the cameras and the clergy in here! All we're missing is the new Military Premiere, but Historia can take his place for the moment. Colonel Parker and the commanders can assist if you have doubts. So, Colonel… where are we on locating Reiss?"

…

Rod stared at the clouds above.

They had turned pink as the afternoon began to shift into the evening.

The feeling of hateful eyes glaring at him never left.

It was as if those who had once used this titan were sending him a message:

"_This doesn't belong to you"_

He ignored it, and continued analyzing his situation.

Why hadn't he transformed into the Jaw Titan?

He had only seen it twice in person, but he had now seen it many more times by viewing the memories of those who had also once controlled the shifter he now knew was the Jaw Titan.

It mattered not the size of the pure titan form, 8 meters, or fifteen meters, fat or skinny, the shifter would always have the form of the titan it controlled.

So why had he been able to transform into the gigantic mess of a titan that he had intended Historia use?

He felt a knot in his throat as he thought back to his illegitimate daughter.

Given Historia's own small size he had made the titan as large as possible, mixing different kinds of spinal fluids collected long ago for the express purpose of "editing" titans.

He frowned.

_Did I absorb the Jaw Titan into this other form? Or did the Jaw Titan absorb this form into its own?_

He was considering this when the driver spoke.

"You alright back there, mister?"

Old man Jones had been very quiet, which Rod appreciated.

"Yes, thank you… I… I have been considering things."

The old man nodded, saying "I'll leave you to that, then."

"Mister Jones-"

"Look, if this is about payment, forget about it. I know you'll pay us back when the king allows the Americans to bring in their products. I do wonder what's taking them so long, though."

"Mister Jones, it's actually… I apologize for my selfishness, but I need another favor."

The old man frowned, saying "What is it?"

"…I am fleeing from a rival colleague. I doubt he has reached Trost, but due to my accident in the field… I can't be sure. It suits both of us that you hide me from prying eyes once we get there."

The old man said "Oh, why didn't you say so sooner? It'll be dark by then, so you can hide between those boxes. Put a blanket over it… you'll be hidden."

Rod nodded and said "You are a life saver mister Jones."

"Ha-ha, I'll ask for a favor of you eventually, mister. Don't think much of it."

Rod nodded, his plan almost done formulating in his mind.

_Everything that went wrong could easily, without a shadow of a doubt, be traced back to that mysterious Gate…_

He wondered how far away it would be from Trost to it.

He wondered how much firepower his titan could take.

He wondered how quickly he could heal what damage was done.

He wondered how effective American weapons would be against the powerful hardening ability he knew he possessed.

Especially when manipulated by someone who was a descendant of the Founder.

Finally, he wondered how easily he could break or seal that gate.

He smiled.

This was his purpose, with the gate gone, Historia would surely see reason, and the two of them could continue to rule the walls as the Founder intended.

All he had to do was get rid of the gate.

And he knew just who could get him there.

…

The sun was setting and Sunny Springer was putting some clothes to dry when she saw the horsemen approach the village.

Garrison soldiers, all armed with muskets that while certainly no match for the weapons her son spoke about, were certainly dangerous.

The men didn't look threatening, however. They looked worried.

_What is happening?_

A tall man approached her.

"Sorry to bother you, miss, but… have you seen this man?"

The man handed her a picture she knew was a photograph. Her son had explained what they were, and she smiled slightly at the thought.

She stopped.

The man looked familiar, but… not.

"I don't think so… why?"

The soldier said "There was an attack against the American trained regiment of the 104th. This man not only led it, he is capable of transforming into a titan."

Her thoughts went to her son immediately.

"The 104th? How many are hurt? My son is with them- his name- his name is Connie Springer, is he-?"

The soldier was patient but he quickly said "I'm sorry, miss, but the information I have doesn't say. Odds are you'll know soon enough. Now, about this man-"

She forced herself to stare at the picture.

She stared for a moment, and then she remembered.

"We… my husband and I picked up a strange man that… somewhat resembled this picture, but… his hair was white and he looked much older. He said he was heading to Trost and left with a neighbor earlier today. Please, if you get any news-"

"Where is your husband?"

The Garrison troops had to move quickly, she understood, but it didn't make the burden easier to carry.

Somehow, a part of her knew that the news had been good for too long.

Bad things happened to everyone eventually.

…

Hugo watched as Hannes explained some things to the new recruits as he stood in the torch light.

The moon was just beginning to shine in the night sky, making it the new recruits' first night shift.

They were members of the 104th that hadn't been taken along to train with the Americans back when the main body of the 104th was being considered for training with the Americans. It had ultimately been the regiment of the kids from Shiganshina that were sent to train while a major part of the 104th continued on to the Military Police, Garrison, and Survey Corps. That would mean they would have little access to the American wonders.

The small trio didn't seem to mind.

They had a fire in their eyes, as if they were happy to be part of something, even if it wasn't integral. It was as if they knew the tides were shifting and humanity was making a comeback.

The victory in Shiganshina had been wonderful news, and Hugo was happy to help where he could.

An old farmer approached the entrance to Trost.

Hugo waved the man in, saying "Got a good harvest, Old Man Jones?"

"Yes, sir!" the old man laughed as he entered.

Hannes approached and said "Any news from the capital? I heard there was a scuffle over there."

Old man Jones actually stopped the cart.

"No, something happen?"

Hannes sighed.

Hugo said "The king or… somebody high up tried to destroy the 104th regiment the Americans had been training. Killed a bunch of them, too. We got orders to be on the lookout for a guy, left us a picture, too. Hannes is just worried about his kids."

Old Man Jones shook his head.

"Damn nobility… probably somebody let his power go to his head. I hope your kids are alright, Hannes."

Hannes nodded, his face not showing much emotion, hiding his fear well.

"Oh, right… we were told Mister Springer introduced you to a man that wanted a ride to Trost?"

Old man Jones nodded, saying "Yeah, but he changed his mind for some reason."

Hannes put up a photograph.

"He look like this?"

"Looks kind of familiar, but no, he had white hair, was a bit older, about my age I reckon. Dropped him off near the main road a few miles back. Said he knew someone." the man said.

The two men nodded and let him through.

_Not like a man like this could hide easily in a cart that small…_

Hannes turned to the new cadets.

"Alright, Floch, Sandra, you two will take the next hour, Gordon and I will take the next, we'll roll around like that."

The red haired young man said "Wasn't that guy from Ragako village?"

"Yeah, but he said the guy was dropped off somewhere further up the road. Hugo, go inform the American team."

Unbeknownst to the Garrison troops, Rod was hidden behind several boxes.

He was lucky.

Old man Jones was apparently trusted enough that they didn't check the small cart.

The cart stopped near a shop and Rod began to step out of the truck.

The old man stopped him, a pistol in hand, and a torch on the other.

The old man spoke "Mister… you are telling me the truth, right?"

Rod felt his body freeze up.

"That picture they showed me, while it didn't look exactly like you… certainly looked like a younger version of you. Did you orchestrate an attack on a bunch of kids in the capital?"

Rod said "No, I had no idea what happened in the capital."

The old man studied him.

Rod considered his options.

If he transformed into titan right here, he could find himself needlessly slowed down by the walls.

He didn't want to transform until he was closer to the American base, to their gate.

"What do you think of the 104th cadets the Americans are training?"

Rod paused and thought about it before deciding to be honest.

"Terrible. I think it is terrible. You can disagree, but those are my honest thoughts."

The old man lowered the gun.

"Yeah, a kid having to fight monsters is an awful fact of life in this world. Lost a daughter that way… if I ever find out you took the life of anyone's kids… watch your back. Now scram."

Rod stared at the man.

"Thank you."

He walked away.

He accelerated his pace and began to run.

He ran.

And ran.

Until eventually coming to the shop he knew.

It was closed.

He cursed under his breath, but decided to wait it out. The sun had set. The Americans were looking for him sure, but he knew they were lost as to his actual location.

He walked towards an alleyway and sat down, considering his plan.

_I wonder how powerful my titan's jaw would be…_

The only reply he got was the ever present and ever hateful glare from beyond.

…

Dimo Reeves stretched as he walked down the street.

The news wasn't exactly good and he knew it.

The king had either lied to him, or the boy with the signature had lied to him- _someone _had lied to him about the purchases made for the king.

_Titan killing weapons… advancements for the betterment of everyone my ass!_

At the end of the day, it didn't matter.

Soldiers and civilians were dead, and he was partly to blame.

He figured he should come forward, hell, he knew it would be the best decision, but then what? The Americans could confiscate everything he owned, ruin his son's life, and throw him in hole so deep he could never crawl out if he was _healthy_, and a decade of managing a successful company had seen to it that he was not exactly in shape.

_Damn it all._

He began to unlock the door to his office when a man he had never seen before approached him slowly. Cowering almost.

_A beggar for sure… _

He reached for the flintlock pistol he carried for his own protection and froze when the man spoke.

"Dimo… it's been a long time since we spoke face to face."

He recognized the voice instantly.

"Mister Reiss?"

Rod smiled. The Merchant had likely known of Rod's true identity only for a short amount of time, but the pair had known of the other's existence since the fall of Wall Maria. He wondered how the man had reacted to the news assuming the Americans had spread it so far so quickly.

"Rod Reiss to be specific… becoming a titan shifter has certainly altered my appearance and I fear that I look more like my father now." he said, a dry laugh following the words.

Rod noted that the merchant was not put at ease by the attempt at lightheartedness.

_Odd… though if he knows by now…_

"I need your help."

Reeves looked around.

No one was outside yet, any Garrison soldiers or Americans in sight were likely still patrolling the entrance to Trost.

"Inside, quickly." he said in a hushed voice.

"Thank you." Rod said, though he didn't sound thankful.

The two men entered the office building and Reeves was about to demand an explanation when Rod said "I'll get to the point. I need to get rid of the Americans. They are a threat to both our causes and I think I can do it. All I need is a horse, and safe passage out of Trost and into Wall Maria. Any other questions?"

Reeves stared for a moment, slowly asking "What… do you intend to do, your majesty?"

"Do so much damage to the Americans that they will never come back. I can do it now, I know I can."

Dimo Reeves nodded slowly as he realized that the apparent true king had confused him for someone who cared.

A plan began to form in the mind of the businessman.

It would be dangerous, but business was not without its risk.

He nodded.

"I will need to talk to some friends in the Garrison. There are Americans here, your majesty. You must remain out of sight… tell you what, help yourself to anything in the pantry, I'll go meet with my contacts and be back in a while. You look famished."

Rod nodded, and quickly went to the kitchen, obviously starving and in a hurry.

Dimo locked the door behind him and began walking down the street.

_If he is a titan… tread carefully Dimo, you depend on these people as much as they depend on you._

The days after Wall Maria fell had been chaotic, and it fell to men like him to try and provide goods and services where possible, keeping people fed, clothed, working. As humanity rebuilt he had found himself still doing as much, being the most successful business in the district of Trost. Many depended on him for work.

He found himself running despite his physical limitations.

Birds sang their morning hymns as he rushed through the buildings, getting odd looks from passersby, people just waking up, and the few other businessmen putting up shop.

He could have sworn he heard an older woman say "Looks like Mister Reeves has decided to begin losing weight!" much to the laughter of her peers.

He ignored it and focused on the task at hand.

Trost had always been suspected of attack by the Colossal Titan back when that was still a threat, so its military presence was higher than other districts, even now after Wall Maria was reclaimed and he hoped to find soldiers soon.

He cared much for the district.

His father built his business there and he had maintained it after the man died.

He would be damned if the king he had unknowingly pledged allegiance to destroyed it over a matter of belief.

He had been running for a while, hopelessly out of breath, when rounding a corner, he spotted them.

A pair of Garrison soldiers talking with someone.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! I found him! I found Rod Reiss!" he yelled as best he could.

The soldiers turned, and Dimo Reeves could only smile.

The Garrison soldiers were talking with a pair of United States Marines.

Kane would have laughed at the fat mass of flesh running towards them yelling something he couldn't understand if it wasn't for the look of worry the two Garrison soldiers got.

The older man, Ian Dietrich, said "That's… he says he found Rod Reiss!"

Kane turned to Murphy and said "Contact the others; we have to be careful with this. Where?" he finished, turning to Reeves.

The man got to them, took a deep breath and said "He is in my shop, he believes I will help him get to… get to… get to your base out in Wall Maria. He looks different than he did some time ago, like he aged ten years, but-"

"Can you take us to him?" Dietrich asked.

Murph was already on the radio.

Dimo Reeves nodded.

The Garrison officer turned to the Marines.

"We could get him out of the city by pretending to go along with his plan?"

Kane lit up.

"Yeah, you and Mitabi lead him far from the wall, we follow you via drone, and then bomb him to hell before the prick can transform!" he exclaimed, grinning.

The others appeared a bit disturbed by the cruel grin on the American.

Dimo Reeves said "At… at least get him out of the city. I don't want him running around as a giant in here!"

The two Garisson officers nodded and the taller one said "Take us to him."

Kane handed Dietrich a radio, as he and Murphy would stay behind, informing the higher ups of their current situation.

_Can't have the walking nuke see them talking with a perceived ally._

Dimo breathed, a bit more relaxed now.

This could work, assuming Rod trusted him.

This could easily work out perfectly!

Hand Rod over to them, explain how he knows him, the Americans would likely understand that he was tricked, and there would be no consequences for him!

Maybe he could even get his hands on some American goods!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

…

Daniel Caine narrowed his eyes as Parker spoke with another officer.

The colonel then turned to the US Representative and said "We found Rod Reiss, he snuck into Trost somehow, but the man he asked for help turned on him. Plan is to get him out of the district on horseback, have two members of the Garrison lead him away, and once he's a fair distance away, hit him."

The US Representative nodded, saying "Don't screw it up… we're already in trouble as it is back home."

Parker nodded before asking "Can you tell me how bad?"

Caine gave him a tired look before leaning against the wall behind him and shoving his hands in his pockets, he said "House already has an inquiry into how things are being handled here, impeachment is being yelled about left and right of course, and don't get me started on the international scene cause China and Russia are _also_ demanding answers."

Parker cringed. The two big rivals of the United States had thankfully remained relatively quiet throughout everything, but if they began to make demands and concessions from the US… well, things were already tense enough with allegations of Russian interference in the previous election and Chinese expansions in the Pacific, this could only add to an already large powder keg that only needed a spark to explode.

Caine continued.

"Regardless, until we solve this we can't focus on any of it. People are already comparing this to Benghazi, so don't give them any more reasons to."

Parker focused on the sound of Marine F-35s taking off once more.

Caine asked "They're carrying bombs this time, right?"

Parker nodded.

"Lightning One is carrying Paveways, Lightning Two is carrying Cluster munitions, three and four are carrying JDAMs in case the son of a bitch manages to transform."

Caine nodded, glancing at the blonde girl sitting silently in the room, watching as the officers ran amok, not doing much of anything.

"She's got a stronger will than I thought..."

Parker raised an eyebrow.

The pale man simply said "It could work in our favor. Show people we aren't actually manipulating her… she'll need to if things get any worse on our end."

With that the man moved to look at the monitored drone feed from Trost.

_Too bad we can't just shoot him within Trost. Buildings are too tightly packed…_

Parker regretted the fact that they hadn't armed any drones with a Hellfire missile model that actually delivered blades instead of an explosive cargo, but if what the Titan shifters had said carried any weight… even that might not be enough.

His thoughts drifted to the secret weapon hidden away within Hill Zero One.

_It may come to that…_

He then wondered how they would deliver the payload when the AC-130s they had approved to bring along were meant to arrive the following day.

"What the hell?!" Caine exclaimed as something happened on the monitor.

Parker moved to take a look.

_Damn it all…_

…

They got to the Reeves shop soon enough, and Dimo knocked on his door.

"I'm back. I'm coming in." he called.

Mitabi and Dietrich took a breath before following Dimo inside.

Rod was in the kitchen; stuffing himself on expensive food.

_A physical incarnation of gluttony._

Reeves cringed at the thought of that mouth devouring humans, but composed himself quickly enough.

"Your… majesty? Are you alright?"

The man stopped stuffing a loaf of bread and steak into his mouth and turned to the trio.

Rod drank some water and said "My… apologies, Mister Reeves… I… didn't realize how hungry I was. Are these the men?"

Reeves nodded.

"They will take you to Hill Zero One, it's what the Americans call it. I paid them off, so we can trust them."

Rod studied the men.

He grabbed a kitchen knife and approached them.

The men tensed up as he did.

"Relax, I just want to be sure you don't have any American weapons or inventions on you."

"Look, sir, we can take you to their base, but you aren't coming anywhere near us with a knife." the taller man, Mitabi, said.

"The knife is not for you… you are hiding something." Rod sighed.

He turned to Reeves.

"They are important officers here, your Majesty, no one will question them if-" the merchant began before Rod cut him off.

"How much did they cost? Would a cadet not work? All I needed was for you to bribe the guards, Dimo. I saw them last night, the oldest is clearly an idiot and the younger ones… they look no older than my daughter!"

The pained look that briefly manifested in the eyes of the man was quickly dashed aside as Dietrich spoke angrily.

"They are also idealists that do not take bribes when the Americans are nearby. We are not your military police."

Rod smiled slightly.

"No, you are the ones in charge of Trost, unless I am mistaken."

The men nodded.

"So getting rid of you would delay any response from the garrison. Dimo should have picked someone less important."

Rod turned to Dimo.

"I thought I could trust you, Reeves."

"What makes you think you _cannot _trust me?!"

"As I said, you-"

"_I _paid for your safe transportation beyond the walls! Think for a second what would happen if you went alone out there!"

Rod was silent, but also seemingly not looking at them, as if he was staring at something beyond them.

Dimo didn't let up.

"If you wish to go alone, then fine! Leave! I gave you my help!"

Silence.

Rod finally said "You have horses?"

Mitabi said "Yes, sir. Picked one just for-"

"Give me one. Take me to Hill Zero One."

…

Floch stretched as he patrolled solitary exit and entrance of Trost, the one that led into Wall Maria. Their small unit of 5 was now switched, and had to keep watch over it much as they had the exit of Trost and entrance of wall Rose the previous night.

His partner, the dark haired girl named Sandra, sighed, saying "I thought we would be getting a breakfast break, sir."

Hannes didn't reply; his eyes closed as he thought about the children he helped raise.

Were they safe? Were they dead?

He prayed it was one or the other, and not some in between that was too horrible to contemplate.

An American truck he now knew was an MRAP drove up to them.

"Officer Hannes? Is he here?!" the young man demanded.

"Yeah, what's up?"

Kane immediately said "We found our guy and we're luring him out of the city. Officer Dietrich and Jarnach will escort him out through here in a little bit."

Floch yelled "W-we're just supposed to let him go?!"

Hannes shook his head, saying "No, you said you're luring him… I see, so if he tries to transform into a titan you can bomb him without any danger to civilians."

The red head glanced at the marine who simply said "Exactly. We're going to park over here, pretend to be asleep, _all_ you guys have to do is let him through."

Hannes nodded, saying "Sure thing, kiddo."

The Marine opened his mouth to say something, but remained silent as the MRAP drove to a corner near the entrance to Trost.

"Alright, Floch, Sandra, I want you to flank me. Obviously this guy is dangerous, so don't give him any reason to think we are a threat to him. Once he's out, we'll each head over to the mess hall and have a well-earned breakfast. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the cadets replied.

It was ten minutes before the three men on horseback appeared, the two elite Garrison soldiers ahead of the hooded figured of the enemy.

_Alright, Hannes, easy now… this isn't the first time you face a titan._

"Captain, everything okay?" he asked, pretending to not know what was going on.

Dietrich played along just fine, saying "Just got orders to take this guy to the American base. Those guys over there are too busy guarding the place so it's up to us."

"Well, if it's an order. The Americans back there are asleep, so it would be better not to bother them. Floch, go ahead and open the gate for the officers."

The red head nodded and ran to do just that.

Hannes made brief eye contact with the man he knew was Rod Reiss and felt a chill go up his spine.

_So… this is the guy behind so much of out troubles…_

The man who ordered the deaths of most of the population of Wall Maria, the man who could have done much more to stop the titans, the man who ruined the lives of the children he had helped raise... a traitor to everything he stood for.

Hannes instead focused on the stone gate opening up little by little, the morning sun shining ever so slightly more as the early morning turned fully turned into the new day.

With a somewhat loud *_Ka-chunk*,_ the gate opened fully.

Hannes said "Alright, then good luck, captain!"

Before Dietrich could reply or do anything, the hooded man jabbed a knife into the officer's back.

Mitabi reacted, screaming "_**What**_-?!" before Rod stabbed the horse he was riding, causing the poor animal to buck, dropping the Garrison officer to the ground.

The actions had only taken a single second.

Hannes and the younger Sandra had reached for their muskets, but the titan shifter was galloping away.

Floch was there, musket in hand.

He allowed the king to pass through the doorway before aiming the rifle and firing a shot.

He wasn't sure if he hit or not, but it didn't really matter.

Rod was out of the Trost District, running away on horseback.

"Are you alright?!" Kane demanded, checking on the Garrison officers.

Dietrich held his bleeding side, saying "What the hell?! Bastard- ah!"

Hannes said "It's not very deep- looks like he just jabbed you with it. Blade didn't even-"

"Well it _**hurts!**_"

Mitabi sat up, shaking his head. His horse licked its wounds a few meters away.

Kane gripped his radio and said "Target ran off without the escorts… must've been onto us…"

Sandra asked "But, we're safe, right?"

Hannes groaned, saying "Yeah, but if he's out there without the escorts…"

Kane said "Yeah, but don't worry… Dietrich will be fine; the district will be fine…"

With a slight glare he concluded "…but he won't be."

…

Rod Reiss forced the horse to go faster, trying to ignore the hateful glared in the back of his head.

But he couldn't.

The small town that used to exist outside of Trost was decrepit and broken, a place smashed to bits by the titans, the descendants of Ymir-

He paused.

The memories that weren't his own suddenly appeared to be almost forcefully clawing their way into his conscious. As if the previous holders of the Jaw Titan were trying to slow him down as much as possible despite being dead.

Specifically, was as if even in death, the girl who had befriended Historia was trying, desperately, to keep him away from her.

Memories of curses, and screams of people, angrily throwing stones at one of these descendants of Ymir, the girl who made a deal with the devil.

_Don't do this!_

Rod screamed at the top of his lungs "_**My daughter will not make another deal with the devil!**_"

It was the Americans!

It was that damned Gate!

There was little to no difference between them and the legends they taught those foolish children!

A power beyond comprehension, especially now, would only serve to curse them further!

That power only brought forth pain and suffering and death!

He remembered his daughter, his beloved Frieda, as she had bravely stood against the man who claimed to know better!

_So long as we remain ignorant and accept the world's rage, we will be the only ones who have to die._

He could _feel _the conflicting personality of the previous shifters within him.

They weren't saying a word, not the girl, not the boy whose name he had stolen for his own use, but he could still feel them _there!_

He cleared the ruined town, pushing into the grassy fields the survey corps had explored in defiance of the Founder's Will.

He should have defunded them the second the Wall Maria fell! He should have killed Erwin far sooner! Even now it was as if the man taunted him!

He then realized how stupid he had been.

He had been so distracted by the thoughts plaguing his mind, the fact that he was starving, and the fact that he felt safe that he had failed realize that if he had just stayed in Trost, the Americans could not have touched him.

He could have taken the district hostage!

Force the Americans to retreat, force Historia to devour Yeager- bring back the true god of this world into it!

Now, as he felt the wind on his face, he realized that he had set in motion a path that either resulted in his victory and the destruction of that gate, or his death, and the death of his values.

He gripped the reins on the horse tighter and shouted "Faster you damned animal! We need to hurry or they may catch up to us!"

The horse obediently accelerated.

But not enough.

_Come on! My father, my brother… my daughter did not die so that their will could be foiled by a __**horse**__!_

He wasn't sure what he did wrong then.

Maybe he pulled something he shouldn't have, or maybe the horse reacted to something else; he just didn't know.

The result was clear to him, however.

Rod Reiss fell to the grassy ground beneath him as his horse kicked and ran off in another direction.

He got up slowly, looking around, realizing the horse was gone before screaming in agony.

His right leg was broken, and even putting a little bit of weight on it sent painful shocks up his body.

_Damn it! Damn it all…_

He froze as he faintly heard something in the sky above him.

He glanced up, the sky had few to no clouds, but he couldn't see anything.

But there was a loud noise in the distance, like the malicious breath of a devil flying through the coulds.

_Devils… they really are… devils._

He forced himself to stand upright, glancing at his injuries, he lifted a hand to the sky.

He remembered how he wanted to destroy the titans once. Use the power of the Founder to get rid of them; the fights he and Urie had with their father over it, the wise old man always knew that was not a viable solution.

_Urie… Frieda… Historia…_

He had an idea of which direction the Gate was.

His opened hand closed into a fist.

He heard the faint noise again, and decided to act immediately.

He closed his eyes, and pushed the powers he had as close together as he could in order to annihilate the enemies before him.

His eyes opened and brilliant light covered him before an explosion blanketed the field.

He would purge the devils from his world or die trying.

He didn't even feel the cluster bombs detonate several meters away; the sheer shockwave of his transformation sent them flying off course, slamming and damaging his leg, but not the vital neck.

High in the air above, the squadron of F 35s observed the giant below them.

Sure enough, it had incorporated the powers of the Jaw titan into its own.

What's worse, it was lying on its back, too big to walk.

A challenging target, certainly, but that didn't matter to the Marine pilots.

The question was if the bombs being carried could penetrate deep enough to kill the man within the beast.

Like vengeful angels, Lightning 1 turned slightly and began to prepare for its second bomb run.

It wasn't a special bomb or anything like that. A simple bomb designed for utter destruction of whatever its target could be, a building, a road, a bridge, some guy in an office, or a house that gave the neighborhood a less than pleasing aesthetic.

It was released once the advanced calculations were made and the trajectory was clear.

It fell, gravity doing most of the work, advanced electronics a fair bit of the rest.

Deep within the unnatural flesh that made up the behemoth, Rod felt completely different as he could feel much further than he ever could before.

It was like flying he realized, even as he saw the bombs fall to his face and blind him he was more preoccupied with feeling for what he knew was farther than any human hand, and yet it felt normal to him.

He couldn't feel his legs, he realized, but he didn't care.

He could sense that he was, at least partly, pointing in the right direction, so he pushed his colossal arm behind him, like a strange parody of a backwards stroke in a swimming competition, and began dragging himself backwards towards his target.

He did not care for the flurry of fire above him or that it felt like his body was being eaten away little by little every second.

He was too busy glaring back at the dead children who were glaring at him in the darkness.

As if begging him not to do what he was trying to do, to not even try; he could see their defiant fury, the dark haired girl leading them.

_Don't do this. Historia made her choice!_

He forced his traitorous thoughts aside and kept dragging himself ahead, despite the explosions and fire above him.

_She made the wrong choice, now she will face the consequences of her choice… but I will keep her safe, and she will keep us safe, just as the Founder intended._

Suddenly, the fire stopped, allowing for him to focus somewhat better on healing.

He found it easier to just not grow back his lower body, it weighed him down anyway.

His eyes slowly regenerated, and he wondered why no new attacks followed.

The sky above him was clear, and he could somewhat distantly hear the strange roar of the American aircraft.

With grim determination that rivaled the memories of the previous shifters, he pushed onward, following the noise and defying the wishes of the dead, for the will of the Founder was stronger in his mind than the decades of experience of the previous holders of this titan, including the feelings of the previous holder.

…

Daniel Caine had seemingly established himself as someone who could remain stone faced even if the world around him collapsed, and Levi could somewhat understand. Why bother showing you were angry, scared, or frustrated if it added nothing to the situation?

But even the scout was somewhat visibly frustrated as the American bombs had done their damage, destroyed much of the titan's head that was on the screen, yet the damned thing kept crawling in a ridiculous fashion towards them.

On the screen, the drone feed showed that the jaw had been torn away from its hinges, revealing the fleshy river of muscle that wrapped around the skull, the two giant caverns that were the slits of the nose, the broken hole that had once been teeth and a mouth… but the bombs had failed to reach their target.

_Damn it all… how powerful is this ability?_

After a moment, the American representative said "Okay, leave him be for now… let's use this opportunity to better cement our relations as two cooperating nations, your majesty."

All eyes turned to the man who didn't seem to notice or care.

"We should gather our military officers, meet up back here in… ten, fifteen minutes… discuss a joint plan of attack." Parker spoke when the Representative said nothing.

Historia glanced at some of her officers… not used to outranking the older soldiers.

But still, the girl nodded, saying "I believe you need to gather the NATO observers."

"Correct, they… they should be here given what we're going to discuss." Parker glanced cautiously at the Representative,

The stoic man said "Colonel, inform General Connor that we're moving up our little demonstration of firepower to… oh, a few hours from now."

He never broke his almost unblinking stare of the giant on the screen.

Historia raised an eyebrow, asking "I thought the firepower demonstration was going to use the Strykers and machine guns. What else did you have in mind?"

The US representative did not reply.

Historia frowned, as did Levi who actually spoke up "Hey, I get that you practically pushed her to be queen for your benefit, but can you at least communicate so that we don't have make half-assed guesses at our situation?"

Caine simply said "Sorry, but it will be discussed in the meeting… let's just say that we are about to command fire to come down from heaven."

There was a strange pause as the military and the new queen took in the implication.

Parker knew that in the Christian Bible there are instances of prophets asking God to send fire from Heaven, and God complying… but there was another case of fire being called down from Heaven, and anyone who had read the Bible likely knew it as well.

_The Second Beast of Revelation 13._

He spoke quietly, asking "So… are we supposed to be Elijah or the lamb like beast?"

"Beg pardon?" Daniel asked.

"You quoted scripture, right?"

The American representative smiled slightly, saying "I guess we would be more like the beast of Revelation 13 in this case."

_Looks like a lamb, speaks like a dragon._

Levi noted the small exchange of words, but said nothing. He cared little about their philosophy or the implications of some beast from some book he had never heard of before.

Right now, all he wanted, all his superiors and subordinates wanted, was to destroy the enemy that was slowly moving towards them.

…

Colonel Parker stared at the group of acting officers for the military forces within the walls.

He glanced at the opposite side of the table, the military officers that were there as NATO observers, all prepared to guide everyone through officially introducing them to a new world, the previous advisory making certain that was never accomplished in full.

"Alright, our standard bombs did damage, but not enough on their own. Right now he is more dangerous than any other titan we have encountered."

Mike Zacharias asked "How is that possible?"

Hanji replied quickly, albeit visibly in pain still.

"This… Rod titan is not only regenerating faster, it seems to have what Annie and Bertholdt describe as a _hardening _ability. On their own, they would never be enough to stop the onslaught of explosives that hit its nape, but combined with the speed at which he does it, as well as his hardening ability, and the fact he is crawling on his back…"

"He is a crawling mountain, with its only weak spot buried under it." Anka sighed.

It was the British officer who said "We actually have some bombs that can penetrate deep within the earth, and should be able to get the job done… unfortunately the aircraft needed for such a task are not available at the moment."

"Nor will they be available in time I presume." Hanji sighed.

"Unfortunately, no… even if we could somehow squeeze a B2 bomber through the gate without dismantling it entirely, the time it would take to fly one to New York, transport it through the city- hell, even an improvised air lift would take too much time… Right now Rod is headed in our direction, slowly, but if he loses control of his titan form then best case, he sticks his course, worst case… he turns and attacks the nearest district… Trost."

Silence.

"So… what are you planning on using?" Historia finally asked.

Parker pursed his lips.

"We… have not been using our most destructive weapons, nor have we shown them to any of you or the cadets… if you would look at the papers on your desk, please."

The acting commanders of the Survey Corps and Garrison forces flipped open the small folders that had been written in their vocabulary.

An egg like object was pictured in the first page, and it was described as a bomb.

"Those are the Massive Ordinance we mentioned earlier, again not an option right now, but they are not the most destructive. Skip to page three."

Hanji frowned, skiping the content.

_What is a Daisy Cutter?_

It was Anka who got ahead of herself and asked "Nuclear… what does that mean?"

Eyes turned to her.

The girl had skipped ahead in the booklet.

Hanji noted the tension among the men from the other world.

"It is the most destructive weapon humanity has come up with in its millennia long quest to dominate." the French officer breathed.

Colonel Parker said "It is the last thing we want to use, but it is something that always had to be an option given how unknown this world was to us… and to you. Our fear was that there was some other, far more advanced intelligence here, and if it found out we were in the nuclear age it would strike… so we ordered everyone coming here to refrain from speaking of them."

_Looks like the Americans aren't much less paranoid than the old Advisory..._

"These… can destroy entire cities in one strike?" Historia asked, reading the information, worried.

The Garrison and Scout officers widened their eyes.

Hanji gaped and despite her pain exclaimed "This is what won you the Second World War!"

Parker shook his head vigorously.

"Not exactly, it brought it to a quicker end, sure, but Japan had already lost that war."

All eyes turned to Hanji as she said "Still…. the power to fully destroy an entire city with just one bomb…"

_One bomb, one city…_

Parker added "That was one of the first versions, though. The ones we have now are far more powerful; we had feared that war with these weapons would result in the total destruction of our world."

"Then why build more?" Historia asked.

"Because our rivals feared us, we feared them, so we raced to get as many as we could in order to prevent them from striking. Mutually Assured Destruction, they may destroy us, but we could destroy them… say what you will, but these weapons helped us prevent our destruction as much as they could have caused it."

It was Anka who said "Then let's use one. It should completely obliterate Rod."

"_**No**_!" every earth side officer said in unison.

The other officers and Historia stared on in confusion.

"Look, these bombs… _one_ of them can make an entire area dangerous to live in for years. Each bomb produces a… toxic cloud that causes _horrifying_ sickness to those that breathe it, and the wind carries it… dropping a single bomb on Rod would make half the area within the walls unlivable, and kill God knows how many."

"If we cannot even use it why bring it up?!" Anka demanded.

"Because you need to know what you are getting into by choosing to fight against Rod and siding with us." he replied.

All eyes turned to him.

"We may _need_ to use nuclear weapons _eventually_, make those decisions… hell, even if we never have to, we would be bringing that knowledge into this world… you would be welcoming it, sure, but it would take this world into a direction it may not be ready to follow."

A pause.

They understood.

"You're asking us if we still want your help."

"You can tell us to piss off, pull back-"

Historia softly said "We won't, you won't, and we will go forward even fi this new path is unknown to us. Is that agreeable?"

Her military officers glanced at her before Rico said "We have lived with the existential threat of the titans for a long time… is bringing in another existential threat what we want?"

A pause.

"Nuclear weapons will not be brought in unless necessary. Currently they are all locked away back home, but we are bringing in the knowledge of them, as well as the threat it poses."

Hanji sighed.

"Figures, even if we don't have them, continuing down this path changes who the monster is. Titans would be yesterday's problem… man would be free to be his own destroyer."

Anka nodded sadly, remembering the rants her commander often went on during his drunken stupors.

Historia said "Then the question is this: are we willing to make that trade?"

Silence.

It was Kitz Woermann who said "Odds are it would happen eventually. Titans cannot advance technologically, humans can. We would have come up with these… nuclear weapons eventually."

There seemed to be some sense of agreement.

"Then we proceed with this knowledge. Mankind will usurp the titans and their power from this world. Now, Colonel… what was the option you wanted to talk about before this little detour?" Historia said, rubbing her temple.

Parker nodded.

"The only option we have right now is the… GBU -43, Massive Ordinance Air Blast, or MOAB. Largest non-nuclear bomb on earth." the colonel breathed.

"We had brought one in just this week in preparation for a show of force and to introduce the advisory to the heavier weapons we have at our disposal… but that didn't really pan out."

"Then let's use it!" Anka said once more.

"That's where we need you."

Eyebrows were raised.

"See, the bomb needs a specific aircraft to drop it, and we had one being delivered here. Unfortunately, it is currently being inspected alongside an entire air wing, so we can't get one here safely before the end of the day. That said, unlike some of our other bombs, this one is a bit more flexible. See, it actually uses a parachute to drop before exploding above ground."

He pointed at the illustrations.

"The plan is to use Four Chinook helicopters in order to carry a large platform where the bomb can be carried on; however we run into problems with actually dropping it."

Hanji said "Yes, coordinating the four release mechanisms, aiming properly…" a weak smiled formed on her face.

"Worse, back on earth this bomb uses a system we do not have here. We improvised by adding some things that will help keep it partly on course, but it still needs to be dropped manually… this is where Eren Yeager comes in."

"How would he help here?" Historia asked.

Hanji lit up slightly, understanding the plan before it was even uttered.

…

Since the arrival of the Americans, the titan presence in Wall Maria had decreased to the point that there were almost no titans present within the outer wall.

Keyword: almost.

As they were focusing on capturing several titans, a few had been spared as they were either trapped somewhere, be it under a house, stuck between trees, or in a hole, the point was that they were not a threat. Thanks to drone technology, a few titans had also been discovered simply standing in forests, not moving in any way.

This meant that there were about a dozen titans left within Wall Maria.

The Survey Corps was planning on using them as experiments once the situation with the Nobility was resolved, which had abruptly happened, leaving destruction in its wake.

It didn't care, though.

No, this titan was simply waiting in the shade of the forest, staring into nothing, not really thinking anything, its dry patches of skin and deformed face destroying all semblance of the human life that it had once possessed so long ago.

Far off in the distance it heard the roar it had gotten accustomed to over the last month, American Aircraft, though it did not know what those aircraft were or what they were doing or who they belonged to.

It didn't even crane its neck up to see.

It did, however, react when it detected something massive in the distance, miles away, crawling on the ground.

It didn't know how it detected it, it didn't really know what _it_ was, but it knew the feeling very well.

_Release…_

For the first time in a few years, its trunk like legs pushed forward, beginning to advance, tearing down some trees that were rotted or too decayed to remain standing as it pushed them aside.

It was alone, of course, but it didn't care. It only had one technical thought manifesting within, never bothering to ask why it was thinking this, or what the word meant.

It just wanted to be free.

As it continued walking, a brief, minuscule thought emerged, perhaps because it was the last thing it thought when it was a human, or because there was something familiar about what was calling to it, but once more, it didn't care.

What do the words "I'll find you" mean to a pure titan anyway?

…

"He has to _**what?!**_" Mikasa demanded, sitting up suddenly, very much against doctor's orders.

"Deliver a weapon of mass destruction to the Rod Titan from high in the air by being tied to four American helicopters as an all assault is carried by artillery and aircraft…. what?" Hanji asked.

The Shiganshina trio was silent as they pondered the information.

"It would be a head on attack, that will force him to stop, if not outright kill him, but assuming he isn't killed, once he is immobilized Captain Levi will receive an order to give you a signal and you will drop the incredibly heavy bomb on him!"

"Historia is okay with this operation?" Eren asked, sounding very somber all of a sudden.

"She certainly seems to agree with it."

Eren faced them directly and said "Well of course she _agrees _with it! This is a man who is perfectly okay with forbidding his own people from being free, from allowing us to liv with the rights we are given by being born into this world! He wants to keep us like caged animals, not people, but… this is her father… as well as a shifter… is killing him the only way?"

"There isn't a hole deep enough to keep him in should he transform, we can't just dig him out of the nape given how deep it is or even if he's still in there given the information the shifters gave us, and with the looming threat of Marley… better to lose a titan than risk losing everything." Armin said.

Eren glanced at him, the boy looked strangely determined.

Mikasa was quiet, but her look of worry said it all.

It had been less than an hour since the trio had been reunited after the previous day's battle.

But it was clear that the battle wasn't over.

"So we have to do this. Then let's do it." Eren said, standing up and stretching.

"So, Levi will be with you once you transform, you will carry the bomb with special chains that you will let go of once you get the proper clearance. I guess Levi will stand on your shoulder and he will give you a signal."

"Wait, outside of the helicopters? Is that safe?" Armin asked.

Hanji said "They have some masks to allow him to breathe and see clearly, so I think he'll be okay, and you should all know how effective our ODM gear is."

Armin stood up and said "Can I accompany them? Please?"

"Armin?" Eren turned to his friend.

"I'll back you up and help the captain if things get out of control! I… I want to help."

Hanji said "Actually, that may be for the better. Levi is currently without a team right now, and I can't really join him given my… current condition. Alright, you two come with me."

Eren and Armin turned to the girl that was now staring at them.

"Relax, Armin will make sure I don't get in trouble." Eren said, trying to give the girl a reassuring smile.

The girl was quiet, turning her face downwards. She had been the one to protect them on more than one occasion, but now…

"Please… be careful." she said quietly.

Eren suppressed the urge to tell her that he would be fine, to stop worrying, giving her a look of understanding.

"Come on, Armin." he said after a second.

The blonde boy nodded.

Time to grieve would come later, now was the time for action.

…

Parker stared at the screen once more, glancing briefly at the radar before looking at the bright blue sky on the drone's feed. There was a squad of Marine Harriers visible in the feed, but he knew they were just one wave that would strike at the beast approaching them.

"First wave is in position?" he asked.

"Yes, Colonel." an American manning a monitor said.

"Enemy hasn't changed course?"

"No, but he seems to be moving slower…"

_Wish we had satellites here…_

Parker turned to Historia, who seemed worried.

"Everything appears to be in order." Parker said.

The girl closed her eyes, once again, pushing worry aside.

"Care to give the honors?" Parker asked.

Historia glanced at him, before glancing at her own officers.

Hanji nodded.

Kitz nodded.

Their subordinates did not appear to object.

A part of her wondered if she really had any authority at the moment, but she was determined to prove that she was, at the very least, capable of handling said responsibility on her own now, especially to protect her people.

It turns out this was who she was.

"Alright… initiate operation David's Throw!" she said confidently.

As soon as the words had left her mouth, the American aircraft shifted direction on the feed and with a scream of their jet engines, began to dive below the clouds.

The behemoth was made visible. Rod's entire lower body was gone, leaving behind a trail of blood and smoke as the giant continued to crawl backwards at an awkward pace.

The Harriers dove in, firing their anti-tank missiles first, but not targeting the supposed strongest point on the sin against nature below them, one at a time, the weapon designed to tear holes in enemy armor slammed into the extremities of the titan's arms.

Then a pair of Harriers strafed the eyes on the giant, blinding him before the second pair of Harriers fired their second round of AT missiles at the face.

Rod was immobilized.

The attack was underway.

…

It was a rude awakening to say the least.

Rod had been happy to drift off into the darkness, become one with his titan, yet as he did so the Americans began their strike, separating his right arm from his body, and severely damaging his left arm.

He was immobilized.

He forced himself to regain control of the titan, despite the strain on his body.

_Whats left of it…_

He began attempting to heal his left arm, to at least be able to keep crawling. He was certain he was still moving in the right direction, and if the attack was any indication, this was a correct assertion.

Still, if he couldn't move… and now he couldn't see.

Again, the feeling of the previous holders of the Jaw titan appeared to be begging him to just surrender, as if this battle was over before it started.

He continued feeling the missiles hit his body, but they were no longer targeting his Jaw.

He realized what they were trying to do then.

_You want me to lose all control of my titan! If you want a battle of attrition, then I will prove to you that my belief alone is far more powerful than whatever gods you bring forward!_

In response, he forced a defiant roar that was far louder than anything heard before, bringing to life the fury of an angry god.

In response, an Anti-Tank missile shot into his mouth.

Rod felt the heat above him even though the weapon exploded a fair distance from his location, dislocating part of his jaw, but not destroying it.

He forced himself to begin healing, knowing that this was just the beginning.

_I just need to get my left arm healed… just… that… and then…_

Another missile slammed into his arm. If he wasn't focused on healing it, it would have been completely separated from his body, leaving him unable to regenerate fully.

Rod forced himself to keep the form together, not about to surrender to these outsiders, not about to go against the will of his god, never!

Once again, memories flooded into him, memories of wanting to save mankind…

He pushed them once more in a rage, knowing that it was too late now.

He would not change course until the Americans were gone or he was dead.

…

"Angel Squadron, we've fired the last of our AGMs, returning to base. Give him hell, boys!"

The A-10 pilot would have been surprised at the lack of spiteful remarks from the Marine pilots flying back in the distance had the situation not been so serious.

The US Air Force was arguably the most hated by the other branches… _but _they had the A-10 Thunderbolts, the Army and Marines did not.

_Along with a bunch of other things…_

"Copy, Angel Squadron. We'll take it from here."

The Four A-10s flew in a relatively close formation as they approached their target.

It was a disgusting sight.

The giant looked like a corpse, muscle and bones exposed all over its face, a skeletal arm severed next to as it produced an ungodly amount of smoke, and its jaw… the only way to describe it would be "unnatural".

It was a mutation that defied nature and humanity, an unholy entity that could have made claims to being a god in another world.

The A-10 pilot smiled slightly.

_Let's introduce him to the Devil's Cross…_

He pulled up; readying a gun run, planning on doing as much damage as possible, maybe even break right through to the bastard's nape.

30 millimeter auto cannon should be more than up to the task, especially as it shot 65 of them every second it was fired.

He centered his sights on the unnatural jaw and opened fire, the aircraft shaking as the gun the plane was built around began to fire.

…

Rod had never felt anything quite like it.

It was a drill, destroying his defense, tolling on him like nothing he had ever felt before.

It was enough, it would have been even with the brief respite, but then there were more explosions, more impacts on his head and body.

He realized that he could only hope to outlast it, and he began attempting to lift his left arm in order to put it on top of his face, use it as a little bit of extra protection.

The second he began to move it, it came under attack.

Angrily, he pushed himself further, hardening parts of it.

Again he felt the strain on his human body, but it was enough.

His arm fell on top of him, and it would take more than a powerful drill to get to him now.

He was completely unaware that the action had actually fused him even further to his titan.

Were one to remove Rod from it there and then, only the lower half of his torso would still be fully recognizable as human, as muscles and nerves all over his body were fusing to the beast he controlled.

Any normal shifter would have already lost themselves, but the level of determination Rod was presenting could only attributed to the Reiss dynasty and their royal blood.

And it would take much more to end him.

For the pilots above, it was a battle of wills at this point.

The A-10 Thunderbolts were flying out of reach of the titan, hitting it with enough power to destroy an armored battalion of any Earth army, and yet the damned thing refused to die!

Air-to-ground missiles were tearing apart what little defenses it had, the legendary Jaw titan's addition was shattered despite its hardness.

It was almost comparable to diamond in fact, impossibly hard, but would break apart under enough pressure. Unlike diamond, it seemed that Rod was able to just barely heal it despite the damage being inflicted.

The Air Force pilots were not giving him any quarter. For every crack he healed, two holes were punched into it.

For every hole he healed, a thousand cracks formed.

_And yet he refused to die!_

As if the rounds and missiles that were being poured into him weren't reaching their target.

One A-10 let out a particularly long burst from the auto canon, to little effect, despite the large hole it left behind.

Suddenly, the bastard had attempted to block their fire with his remaining arm that shouldn't even function?!

_Like hell…_

They unloaded on it, 30 millimeter rounds, AGMs, laser guided missiles, all converged on the joint that had been discretely healing.

Direct hits all around.

The arm bucked, slowly collapsing… right on Rod's face.

It would dissipate, sure, but for the moment…

"Angel Squadron, pull back… stand by for a second engagement, we're going to soften him up a bit more."

"Copy, Colonel…"

…

"Think you can carry that?" Levi asked.

Eren stared at the almost comedic large bomb, an American flag on its side with the initials M-O-A-B next to it. A car was pulling it towards them on the airfield

"I'll have to." the boy said, glancing behind him as the American aircraft began to take off.

Levi said nothing, walking away as Eren stared at the knife in his hands.

A lot was on his mind. What he had seen in his memories…

Once more, he forced those thoughts aside and gripped the knife before making a slight cut on the palm of his hand.

Light engulfed the airfield as large amounts of muscle and bone materialized seemingly from thin air.

The Attack Titan stood up at its 15 meter and carefully moved towards the payload.

Armin watched Eren pick up the massive bomb with both arms, holding it tightly as several scouts began to sue their ODM gear to attach the giant to the chains that 4 CH-47 Chinooks would soon use to lift him.

"Wonder how he's so strong. Most titans would struggle to lift up a regular car, yet Eren picks up something that heavy like…"

"Don't care; what we need now is to use that strength to stop a bigger monster." Levi said, placing on the mask on his face.

The CH-47 Chinook was designed to carry troops and equipment, and was able to fly up to altitudes exceeding 18,000 feet, which had paid off during military operations in mountainous regions.

Now it would serve a different purpose: a makeshift bomber.

Armin checked his gear once more before placing on his air mask and following the captain.

Faintly, almost imperceptible, he could hear explosions in the distance.

…

"Fire!"

Jake observed as the MLRS batteries opened up.

Production of these beauties had stopped in 2003, although they were still in use by many militaries across the globe. Now there was a whole unit of them in this world, putting their long ranged ability to deliver destruction to good use.

The small escort group of Humvees and Survey Corps scouts was just making sure no unwanted attention from titans was suddenly received.

He could see the smoke in the distance; turning to Dave he said "How much can this thing take?"

"There is a common myth in fiction that something gigantic is also invincible. I know he has a healing factor, but… come on, he can't tank that much, kind of why he's stopped in his tracks. He's trying to defend himself."

Jake nodded, watching the smoke in the distance grow in intensity.

"All Vicks, be advised, we have detected titans in the nearby area, do not engage unless necessary." the tired voice of Lieutenant Troy came over the radio.

"Huh… they must be headed for the Rod titan."

_Titans seem to be attracted the most to titan shifters…_

Dave said "If they plan on dropping a MOAB, then… two birds, one stone."

Jake nodded, turning to look at the rockets as they began to descend.

_Steel Rain…_

"Dude, check it out!"

Jake glanced at the sky and saw an almost comical sight.

Four Chinook helicopters carrying one titan and the most destructive weapon the Americans had brought with them so far.

_Reminds me of Pacific Rim… go get him, kid. _

…

This really was just a show of force on the part of the Americans, demonstrating how much more destructive than the titans man could be.

The rockets that were now flying towards Rod ripped apart in the air, revealing what made it so dangerous: 970 M74 bomblets.

They fell from the sky, the hand grenade sized bombs that could destroy armored vehicles and do unspeakable things to human beings hit the remains of giant's arm that protected his vital spot.

They tore Rods defenses apart, leaving the man screaming inside his little protected shell.

Hell fell on him, the bombs shredded skin, and produced so much heat that he thought he would suffocate. The smoke alone would have blinded him if he had eyes left, and if he still had functioning lungs he would have suffocated in minutes. Worse, some of the small bombs did not explode, simply crashing into holes made by the previous strikes of missiles and auto cannon rounds, likely to explode if he tried to regenerate around it.

It was a fury Rod had never expected to meet at any point in his life, certainly not from the Founder that inhabited his father, his brother, and his daughter.

_Devils… damned… devils!_

He was losing himself more and more as the attacks continued all over his gigantic body before suddenly ceasing.

A quiet stillness followed the overwhelming barrage as Rod slowly tried to recover.

He braced himself, expecting a second round, but nothing came.

He still couldn't see.

He couldn't even really think straight, the strain of maintaining that massive titan reducing him to a husk that couldn't even fully classify as human anymore.

But still, deep down, he understood his mission and forced himself to begin healing.

First, his eye.

Just one, just enough to see what was coming.

It was difficult, damn near impossible, but he managed as no more attacks came.

_Had they run out of ammunition? Did I outlast their waves? _

The thoughts were only brief sparks of consciousness given how lost he was at this point.

As he was suddenly able to see the sky above, he felt something akin to peace.

He felt like he was closer than ever to reaching his goal of bring the god of this world back into it. He now truly believed he could do it.

As his left eye healed, all he was able to see was smoke, not that it registered very much.

To his surprise, a small mob of titans was approaching him from a forest in the distance.

They were running.

It was sad as they eventually got to him, tearing at his titan's flesh, trying to reach their salvation.

Rod understood full well what they wanted. His roars had sent them all into a frenzy, as if declaring where their possible release could be.

He continued to prioritize healing his face and arms, eyeing the titans actually push and bite at each other as they try to tear into his side.

He saw a particularly skinny one simply be crushed by two larger and fatter titans.

It was sad.

He didn't think as he glanced back at the sky, nor did he think much of the clouds above moving gently in the breeze, as if the massive display of firepower meant nothing to the sky above.

_All in all, these devils are ultimately human…_

He actually didn't see the bomb fall from sky.

Under normal circumstances, the GBU-43 would be dropped from an AC-130, stuck on an airdrop platform that would have several parachutes attached in order to pull it out of the flying aircraft. Said platform would then release the GBU-43, which would then rely on satellite guidance to reach its target.

These, however, were not normal circumstances.

The airdrop platform was not attached to parachutes, it was instead being held onto by a 15 meter tall titan shifter who simply had to angle it properly before letting the whole thing go.

It had no GPS guidance, instead relying on hastily assembled fins that would keep the 9 meter long bomb from spinning off course.

Its target was not a massed group of enemy forces, but a single enemy, hidden under meters of hardened flesh and the toughest material seen on that planet.

The GBU-43 wasn't meant to be a ground penetrating weapon; she designed after her older sister, the BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter", an anti-personnel bomb that was used in Vietnam and later Afghanistan.

She had been used a grand total of three times since her conception in 2002.

Two of those times were just tests.

That said, when you drop the most powerful non-nuclear weapon on the face of the earth on a target… well, ground penetration doesn't have to be its design in order to achieve it.

There was one key aspect of her design that was rather appropriate for its mission and had been true every time she had been dropped.

The very first test drop against actual enemies was done less than two years prior to this one, and while eliminating the enemy was part of it, it was also part of a grander scheme, one that the American military had been carrying out since the early days of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the reason she was called _The Mother of All Bombs_.

"Shock and Awe."

Nobody celebrated in the command centered when the drone feed showed the massive ball of smoke that had engulfed what remained of the Rod Titan on the monitor.

Historia forced herself to remain composed as the image showed just how destructive this weapon was, the titans that had run to the giant had been seemingly obliterated, and pieces of gigantic bone and flesh was thrown sky high.

_And this is just their most powerful __**non-nuclear**__ weapon…_

After a moment of nobody talking, Daniel Caine said "And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from Heaven…"

He turned to the onlookers and said "Welcome to the atomic age, your majesty: it's a world full of terrors and wonders."

Historia felt an eerie stillness settle before saying "That isn't an atomic bomb."

The man chuckled "Nope, but it might as well be. Even before the atomic age we had Earthquake Bombs… well, the British did."

Hanji sighed, saying "Terrifying as that may be, I do think it's the better choice between two evils. At least now we can choose our fate for ourselves."

Historia visibly winced suddenly.

Rico said "Your majesty?"

The girl had paled before saying "I… felt something… off…"

She stared at the screen then, the smoke still flying to the sky as the four Chinooks began to descend towards it.

...

Instead of simply detaching the chains holding his titan form in place, Eren Yeager simply detached himself from the titan.

The benefit of having quickly degrading bodies was that titan shifters didn't really need to have a cleanup crew ready to deploy or maintain he titan body that Eren could pilot.

Armin was already on the ground with Levi, six Delta force operatives armed with MGL-105s, just in case the titan threat was still active. Next to them were six Survey Corps scouts.

Not exactly the best of the best, but they should do in case the titans that remained were in fact still around and got close enough to strike.

"Yeager, you stay back! We don't need you getting chewed up by an annoyingly resilient titan. Arlert, you keep watch."

Eren nodded and rubbed the slightly burned marks under his eyes as Armin watched the soldiers march into the smoke.

They were quiet for a spell, the odd bits of radio chatter and whistling wind filling in the silence.

Eren sighed, saying "Kind of weird… he could have helped us but… didn't."

Armin shrugged, saying "We know how serious some people can take their belief… maybe he really thought this was the only way to save us."

Eren scoffed, saying "Taking our freedom away, making us live like cattle… that's no solution no matter how you slice it."

Armin didn't reply as they continued to stare at the slowly dissipating behemoth.

Several meters away, the team inched its way deeper into the corpse.

It was all evaporating, making it hard to see very far, something Levi found annoying as it maed it almost impossible for him to judge where it would be best to aim his ODM gear in order to pull back if a titan surprised him, but he figured most if not all of them were dead.

The explosion had been far too large for anything to survive it, and even if a titan had, somehow, through some impossible means, survived, it would still be busy healing its injuries to actually get them.

"Anyone see anything? " one of the Delta operatives asked.

Levi turned to look at his surrounding as best he could.

What little he could see what just dissipating flesh and bone. Nothing alive.

"Nothing here. Maybe he got pulverized by the sheer amount of firepower." a scout said.

Levi said nothing, focusing on his surroundings.

He could only focus on accomplishing the mission, ensuring Erwin Smith got justice, show that the man won his war even if it killed him.

He would grieve later.

Something sounded off.

As if dirt and rock were shifting in the distance.

"Anyone else hear that?" Levi asked.

The scouts and Delta operatives paused and listened.

It sounded like shifting debris.

They pushed through the steam slowly; listening to the shifting rocks before stopping at the edge of the both impressive and underwhelming crater the GBU-43 had left in its wake.

Sliding down it was a broken titan, its legs were burned off, and its face was smoking as it slowly crawled towards something in the lower edge of the crater.

Levi glanced at it and froze.

It was a mound of flesh that very faintly resembled a human being.

Whats worse, is that whatever it was… it was still alive.

A skeletal hand, covered by mushy muscle and visible nerves was weakly attempting to grab at a rock, perhaps to climb out of the crater, its skull, if it could still be called that, had no eyes, no mouth or nose to speak of as the flesh had seemingly melted around it.

Levi could see that Rod Reiss had very much paid the price for using such a titan.

One of Delta operatives grabbed his radio but Levi stopped him.

"We should let that thing over there eat him."

All eyes turned to the stone faced captain.

"One 40 millimeter grenade will do the job." the operative said.

"And let him take the Jaw Titan with him? No way."

One of the scouts said "But… captain, don't we have a titan back at the FOB? Could we bring it back?"

The Delta operative said "No way our superiors would allow a prisoner to be eaten alive… if he even is alive."

They eyed the feeble attempts at movement from the mound of flesh, as if it was trying to reach out for help.

"The officers don't know yet… the smoke is blocking their drones… and we can save a life."

They turned to look at the damaged titan that was now almost upon the mound of flesh.

The radio crackled suddenly.

"Delta team, report."

All eyes turned to the team leader.

The man said "Command, we believe we found Rod Reiss, he is being devoured by a titan that survived the blast. Should we interfere?"

There was a pause as command seemed to consider its options.

"Copy, Delta team. Bring the shifter to the nearby Chinooks, we will send a team to prepare a tent for them."

The men nodded before turning to look at the titan.

Its healed arm grabbed the mound of flesh and lifted it, the still human details of what remained of Rod Reiss revealed themselves as more skeletal than anything, as the still alive human managed a pitiful groan.

The giant slowly opened its wide mouth.

_It didn't have to be this way… you chose this path._

Rod Reiss never knew he died.

Levi watched the titan not even bother to chew the broken body as it swallowed.

The creature slowly turned to look at the humans, its smile slowly widening before it stopped moving.

It seemed to shake slightly, its mouth opened up and it fell backwards.

Smoke began to emit from it.

"Command, retrieving shifter. That thing works fast…"

Levi said nothing, his mind moving back to Erwin… would he have wanted that?

He balled his hands into fist, forcing the thought aside.

_Finish the mission._

He approached the titan carcass, looking for the individual that was supposed to come out of the nape.

It took a moment, but through the steam he saw the figure of a woman.

She stood up for, stumbled backwards for a second before Levi and a Delta operative rushed over to catch her from hitting the ground.

"Oh, um…" the operative began, noticing very quickly the woman was naked.

Levi didn't say anything, simply removing his Survey Corps hood and placing it over the woman.

She was still young, blonde… she looked familiar.

As the steam cleared Levi froze.

"Miss? Miss, can you hear me?"

The woman didn't respond, but she was breathing.

Levi recognized her, but stayed silent as they got ready to move her.

He thought about Eren, about Historia… this didn't really throw a wrench in their plans or anything, but it was either an incredible coincidence, or…

He remembered thinking he saw a dark haired woman on a rooftop some time ago.

He disregarded the possibility, glancing at the woman.

_Welcome back to the world of the living, Dina Yeager._

* * *

**A/N: So… THAT took way too long to finish. First of all apologies for the delay… and for honestly making this chapter the hardest to buy into... I think this is where I have to stretch the suspension of disbelief the MOST. **

**In all honesty, one or two JDAMs should have been enough to kill the canon version of the Rod Reiss titan, so I came up with a bunch of excuses for the Americans to resort to using the GBU-43 (partly as a show of force, sure, but still).**

**Honestly, even in this buffed up state, the A-10s alone would have eventually killed Rod Reiss in titan form, assuming he would last as long as he did in this fic should he have control over his 120 meter tall beast.**

**So issues to address before the Reviewer Response:**

**One: How is Rod using that massive form without fully fusing to his titan?**

**He isn't. By the end he was so fused with his titan that when the GBU-43 detonated over him and literally annihilated his defenses, he was so fused to his titan that all the fleshy mush we see at the end aren't his, they're melted fragments of biological hardening material that welded onto what was left of his nervous system.**

**Two: How come Rod is using the 120 meter colossus instead of the smaller, nimbler, and more efficient Jaw Titan?**

**The idea that I went with is that Rod had created such a combination that instead of the Jaw Titan adapting the new abilities onto its own (better hardening, greater physical strength, etc.) it added itself to the monstrosity Rod created. We have seen the reverse happen in the main series (when Eren eats another shifter, he gains the abilities of the shifter, but does not change appearance) so this was to add more of a sense of how wrong the Rod titan is.**

**Three: canon differences?**

**Tried to handwave it here, but you guys let me know if it worked or not.**

**I do hope this is the only time I have to stray so far from the main canon, though, as I did break some rules from the main series as many reviewers pointed out. Really appreciate that, as I do want to improve my writing.**

**Alrighty, now with that out of the way, on to the Reviewer Response!**

**Guests- Amount of Death.**

**Yeah… I think I mentioned this, but a surprise attack would leave a large amount of damage, even with ancient weapons. It was the only way Rod could actually manage anything before his own forces got overwhelmed. Keep in mind, a couple of Strykers, Humvees, and snipers took out pretty much the entire Interior Police force, they had to strike when the Americans weren't expecting it. Even that initital surprise attack resulted in almost a complete loss of personnel for the MPs.**

**Guest- What is this? Game of Thrones?**

**Oof, sorry, that's another franchise… which I recently found out has a fic similar to this called "The New World" by HolyPaladin2 if anyone is curious. **

**Lincoln L- What's the difference between a mortar and a rocket propelled grenade? **

**Another guest answered this, so I'll just paste it here: ****Mortars are indirect fire weapons (the projectiles fly up into the sky and plummet down onto the target below). RPGs are direct fire ( where the projectile fly straight at the target its pointed at).**

**Anyway, that about wraps up the "Revelation 13" arc! **

**I hope it was enjoyable to read, even if it's probably the arc that strays the most from canon, which I would prefer to avoid, so any screw ups on my part, please point them out. Hopefully it wasn't too distracting.**

**With that said, thank you all so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed it, I plan to continue writing this, and I appreciate suggestions. If anything felt off, feel free to let me know!**

**Thank you and I will see you in the next chapter! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Aftermath**

* * *

The desert sun was particularly harsh where they now lived, so Ibrahim liked to get up as early as possible in order to _avoid_ it as much as possible while working on his chores.

He was no older than eleven, an adult at this point in the small, mobile village.

He stepped out of the tiny tent, allowing his parents to continue resting and welcomed the cold morning air with a sigh.

Why the desert was so hot in the day and so cold in the night wasn't something he thought much about, but on occasion he did wonder what the science behind it was.

His late grandfather was often speaking of an ancient time where their people had been so enlightened by science and history that people from all over the world would go to them in search of knowledge.

Then the Eldian Empire arrived, and everyone knew what happened then.

As he picked up a clay jar his mother had lovingly made for them to store water, he frowned, feeling resentment he rarely thought possible but was always able to conjure up whether he wanted to or not.

His father wasn't Eldian.

His mother was.

Why they had married and had him, technically half an Eldian, felt incredibly selfish in his young but mature mind.

_This is why we have to run…_

Grabbing the jar and tossing it over his shoulder he began walking towards the well they had dug only the day before.

They had gotten lucky as they were close to some mountains, and water was easier to find.

He arrived at the nearby well, alone, and began to ready the wooden bucket when he glanced at the rising sun.

It was but a large orange glow in the distance, and he was wondering if his ancestors knew more about it than he did now.

He knew it was a glowing ball of fire, but surely it had to have more than just that, right?

He began lowering the bucket into well when he heard a somewhat distant explosion.

_What was…?_

One of the men who was in charge of keeping watch ran up to him, rifle slung on his shoulder.

"Ibrahim! Wake your father, we must hurry!"

"W-what's wrong?"

The man nervously shook his head, saying "I sent Khalil to check the nearby cliffs, he hasn't returned, and now that explosion… it may be nothing, but we have to keep moving. Better to be safe than dead, now hurry!"

Ibrahim noticed the man was unslinging his rifle and loading a round into it.

He grabbed the still empty jar and ran to his tent.

"Father! Father, wake up!"

The man was much older than his mother, the hairs on his beard already turning grey, but he was a man of action, and got up with a start.

"What is it? What's happening?"

"I… I don't know, but there was an explosion, and Ali believes we should begin moving. He told me to wake you up."

The man grimaced, saying "Alright, wake your mother, pack the important things. Quickly." before standing up and grabbing the rifle by the entrance of the tent.

Ibrahim nodded and did as told, quickly grabbing a bag filled with papers and slinging them over his shoulder.

His mother was already partly awake, so Ibrahim telling her "Mother, we must run!" did the job.

She said nothing, grabbing her covers and folding them quickly.

Ibrahim ran outside and began to ready the tent. He saw his father and Ali waking up the other people in tents, the sun beginning to rise fully.

It was then that he became aware of a disturbing sound in the distance.

_*boom-boom-boom-boom*_

_*boom-boom-boom-boom*_

He hadn't heard anything like it before, never in his life, but he was painfully aware of the stories imbedded into his culture as well as every culture on the planet.

Even if stories hadn't been told and preserved by the old Eldian Empire, nobody could forget such horrors.

As if the terrors from those days was so horrifying that they would be embedded into the memories of every race for every generation until the world came to an end.

He quickened his work and the tent fell over much faster than he had planned, his mother only barely stepping outside before it fell on her.

"Careful! Work fast, but properly!" she scolded him, slapping the back of his head with her free hand, the other hand carrying another bag.

He kept his mouth shut despite his visible irritation, too focused on the oncoming threat.

_*boom*_

_*boom*_

_***boom***_

His father began to rapidly scream orders suddenly.

"Forget it! Everyone grab what they need and get on the camels! Now! _**They're coming**_!"

The small mobile village had twenty people, most of them grown adults, a few kids, and a single elderly woman who simply sat down in the sand.

His father saw her and immediately ran up to her, speaking in her old native tongue.

"Jida, you-"

"Leave me be, I will distract the enemy as long as I can!"

His father ran up to her and yelled "No, _Jida_, please! This-"

Another man with a rifle screamed then, "If she wants to remain then let her! We cannot wait any-"

Ali interrupted him.

"Everyone, look! I see Khalil coming from the Cliffside!"

All eyes turned to the nearby mountain side, a lanky figure emerging from a corner and heading down a path all alone.

"W-where is his camel?" a man asked.

"No, this is good news! It means we are dealing with people that wouldn't kill him on site! He probably has a message!" another man said, though perhaps more to convince himself than convince anyone else.

Ibrahim didn't move, his mind too focused on the ever present booming footsteps.

_***BOOM!***_

Before the thought could even finish forming in his mind, a ten meter tall, incredibly skinny monstrosity turned the corner on the Cliffside.

Its smile widened as it lunged down the cliff and grabbed the running Khalil with both hands.

It stuffed the screaming man into its mouth before continuing to run towards the small village.

"Flee! Everybody flee right this-" his father began to shout, but a shriek interrupted him.

A small group of about five of the humanoid abominations appeared behind the hills they intended to flee towards.

They were slow, but they were each about 15 meters tall, and hungry for human flesh.

They were effectively trapped with a giant monster heading towards them from one escape route, and five others coming at them from their other escape route.

"Why? Why? I don't under-" Ibrahim began to say as his father grabbed him.

"Ibrahim, grab your mother and get out of here right now! You must escape! You must survive!"

The eleven year old pushed his fear down and nodded, rushing without a second thought to find his mother, his father gripping his rifle and turning to the ten meter giant that was running towards them.

"Focus on its eyes!" he shouted.

Five men fired five rifles at the beast, with pinpoint accuracy.

They were outdated rifles which they had bought from a somewhat amicable group of soldiers who were going to throw them away and decided that "losing" a few in exchange for some precious metals wouldn't be much of a problem.

They performed well enough, however, the half inch bullets were effective at a range of 365 meters, and the running giant was only half that distance away.

All five rounds found their mark on the eyes, and the men immediately pulled down the lever to eject the spent casing and insert another round.

Ibrahim knew the tactic somewhat.

It wouldn't kill the immortal monsters, but it would slow them down a bit.

Certainly enough for him to escape on the back of a camel.

He found his mother, frozen in fear, clutching one the clay jars she had made, watching the oncoming monsters as her friends and family panicked around her.

"Mother, we must hurry!"

She didn't respond.

"Umi!" he said as loud as he could, trying desperately to get her attention by calling her by the title given under her birth language.

_She didn't speak it anymore, but…_

She did turn to look at him as he took her hand and tried to pull her away.

He then froze as he saw what she was seeing.

The bullets had blinded the running titan, but the damned thing kept charging, completely unabated by the damage!

He saw Ali nervously grab a bag and try to set it on fire with a match before running at the beast.

His father screamed "**Fall back, **_**now**_!"

The four men began to run away while Ali ran towards the immortal horror.

The giant was on him almost immediately, stuffing him in its bloody mouth as the young man let out a defiant scream.

An explosion blew most of the giant's head to pieces.

His father didn't give his men a break.

"Now! Focus on the other immortals! Don't let his sacrifice be in vain!"

Ibrahim saw as the men turned and began to fire onto the slow moving giants that were seemingly distracted by the people trying to retreat on the backs of camels.

Ibrahim let go of his mother's hand and ran to pick up the rifle left behind by Ali.

His mother grabbed him.

"Child! It has no bullets! Don't be foolish! We must flee before they are upon us!"

He yelled back "No! We can beat them! If we just have the riders distract them with the camels-"

A bone chilling scream interrupted him. The boy was unsure if it came from a woman or a man, but he realized that it wouldn't change the outcome of the scenario.

The eleven year old turned and saw that one of the 15 meter giants had managed to grab a camel, crushing it alongside its rider.

Instead of stuffing them into its mouth, it squeezed the remains like one would crush a fruit in order to drink its juice, lifeblood and pieces of the person falling into the monster's open mouth.

Five of the damned things were too much.

Two were blinded by the men firing, but they could only do so much even as they fired faster than they ever had before.

It was the elderly grandmother who spoke to Ibrahim then.

"They did this when Eldia ruled the earth, too. Do as your father says, child. Take your mother and run. It is the only way you can survive this. Mankind cannot defeat such horrors, just pray the ones in charge pity you enough to let you live."

Ibrahim turned to dispute her, still convinced they could all escape, until he saw what the woman was staring at.

The headless giant was getting back up, part of its head was already growing back.

Now _he_ began to pull at his mother, desperately trying to pull her away from the camp before the giant got to it.

She didn't need convincing.

It first dove for the elderly woman.

That bought him enough time to get onto the camel with his mother as it ate the woman in one quick _CRUNCH._

It then dove for his father and his men.

One of them, he wasn't sure who, managed to blow out its left eye before being killed.

It crushed them all, scraping the remains of two of the men into his mouth and licking the desert ground with its tongue as his father and another man tried firing into it once more as a final act of defiance.

The bullets did their job, but the immortal cared little for the damage as it continued to attack.

That bought enough time for his mother to get the camel to begin running. He saw her tears stream down her face as the final gunshot rang out.

It bought them ten seconds before the giant ran and caught up to them, the damage done by his father and the armed men already healed.

His mother clutched him tightly as the camel was swept aside with cruel indifference, and the two Eldians hit the ground.

Ibrahim saw the beast above him and realized why they were called what they were called.

These were the descendants of an ancient, voracious god that ate all and conquered all its way to rule the world.

_So this is a titan? We never stood a chance…_

It was about to grab him and his mother when it stopped moving altogether, quickly turning to the other five, slower giants.

The beasts had finished munching on the other people that had tried to run and were headed towards what appeared to be the two remaining survivors, the blood on their mouths washing away with their drool.

The running giant instead of killing him and his mother simply attacked the other five titans, tearing them to pieces one by one, the other five not even reacting.

Ibrahim and his mother stood there, staring in shock at the violence.

They didn't notice the small car drive up towards them and their wounded camel.

Two men in military uniforms hopped from the front and aimed their rifles at the pair.

Another pair stepped out of the small vehicle from its rear and eyed the two.

No one spoke.

"Can you understand me?" the older man in the group asked.

His mother turned to stare at the man in shock.

She eventually said "Y-yes sir…"

The man looked at the destruction nearby and in a tired tone said "Splendid… Do you know who these people were?"

"W-we were…" the woman managed to say before she began to sob.

Ibrahim watched the men in terrified confusion.

_Did they attack us with the titans? Why not kill us all?_

"Come now, spit it out."

"W-we… we were running towards Marley, we… are from the Middle Eastern Alliance- we-"

"You are Eldians?" the man interrupted.

The woman nodded.

The man flared up there and then, his face contorting slightly in anger before he began to look at the destruction around him.

He turned to the other man and tiredly said "This is what we get for trusting those sons of bitches in the east? I should have known the second… damn it all!"

The other man said nothing.

The angry man who was seemingly in charge then turned back to the woman and said "You are Eldians, do you have your identification papers?"

The woman nodded, still sobbing.

"Do you have the necessary documents for admission?"

She nodded once more, turning to Ibrahim.

The eleven year old slowly handed them the papers he had saved from the tent once his father had ordered him to pack it up.

The man took them, looked them over, and nodded.

"Alright. Lower your rifles, the Mid-East bastards lied to us. Holder! Get on the radio and get us some transportation for these people, and if they don't already have them, get them some damned badges to identify them with."

Ibraham stared as one of the soldiers reached into a bag and simply said "Here, put these on your arms. You'll need them to enter Marley." as he handed him and his mother a small piece of cloth.

It had a strange looking 9 pointed star on it.

As they did so, the other soldier muttered "Welcome to Marley." as he shouldered his rifle.

…

"_She really isn't saying much."_

"_I guess it's to be expected. These Restorationist pricks gain absolute loyalty from their families."_

"_Hey, the boss says they caught the last ones. They were trying to sneak out of the city through the railroad tracks. Guess this little bird won't be of much use anymore."_

"_Yeah, damn shame… she's quite the looker even all beat up."_

_Stop! __**STOP!**_

Dina Yeager felt her eyes shoot open and the first thing she wanted to do was reach for her husband's hand.

She shifted in the… oddly uncomfortable bed.

_Strange…_

"Grisha… I- huh?"

She winced, noticing that there was no one next to her.

In fact, the bed was much smaller than the one she and Grisha shared.

_Where am I?_

It had all been a terrible nightmare, right? Nothing more, right?

She removed the covers and found herself not wearing her night gown. Instead, she was wearing… something like an apron that covered her body for the most part, but…

She looked around, noticing the window beside her.

It was daytime, maybe the middle of the morning, maybe a little earlier.

There wasn't a clock she could check.

The room itself was barren, and small.

"H-hello?" she called.

The room had a door.

"Is… anyone-?"

The door opened.

"Oh, thank God, you're awake."

It was a doctor, clearly a doctor… had something happened to her the previous… night?

"How are you feeling?" the man asked, but she could sense some unease behind him.

"I'm alright, thank you. D-does my husband know I'm here?"

The doctor shifted before simply shaking his head.

"What happened? Where is he? Is he alright? My son! His name is Zeke, he-"

"Miss… Yeager?"

"Yes?"

"Look… there is no easy way to say this. It has been more or less… eighteen years since you last spoke to your husband."

Dina looked as if she had been slapped by the statement.

"W-what?" she managed in a hoarse voice as her throat began to dry up.

"Grisha Yeager left some writings about his experience, and he mentions that you were… transformed into a titan by Marleyan authorities."

Dina felt the blood drain from her face as she began to take it all in.

The memories of what to her had only happened a few days prior but in reality had been well over a decade ago flooded into her mind.

Her son pointing directly at them, explaining to the authorities that they had been plotting against Marley and grooming him to betray the military, and had been creating an underground resistance to overthrow Marley by regaining the power of the Founder.

She remembered the torture they put her through as they tried to drain her of information for the remaining members of the Restoration movement.

Dina stared at her hands.

She had lost several fingers, little by little, segment by segment, regardless of whether she had told the truth or not, the men had made sure to express the rage of their ancestors onto her.

Now they were back, as if the damage had never been done.

_Which means…_

She remembered the trip across the sea, not even being allowed to see the ocean, or the sunrise, staying in a dank room below deck, unable to see anyone or anything as she was blindfolded.

Dina had heard an officer yell that someone could reach the walls if they headed north and kept running as she was taken up the steps.

She had heard screaming and a loud series of explosions then as she realized her comrades, the ones who had relied on her husband were now likely gone.

_Oh, a woman this time? Shame she's a devil…_

Dina remembered being forcefully knelt down on the cold cement below, a soldier removing her blindfold and her finally seeing her husband, the battered and wounded man kneeling on the edge of a tall wall right next to her.

_This is the Island of Paradis…_

One of their comrades, Grice, had been tossed out into the sandy floor below, and she could see titans that looked eerily familiar chasing after him.

She remembered her husband began desperately trying to beg for her, try to claim she was of royal blood before a tall guard grabbed him and forced him to be silent.

She tried to be reassuring as the large needle was inserted onto her back.

The fear… oh, she truly remembered the fear as she began to feel her body paralyze and begin to change on a biological level into something unholy.

She had somehow actually managed to smile and say _"No matter what… I will always find you."_

Then it all went black.

Dina stared at the doctor, she looked at her hands, she glanced at the window, and slowly asked "Did I… devour a person?"

"We had been fighting a titan shifter and had done some serious damage when you appeared. According to the troops on the ground, your titan form got to the wounded shifter before our men could and devoured him."

"S-so then… I… I…"

In a flash, she saw memories that weren't her own.

Her only response was to scream at the top of her lungs.

…

"Present! Fire!"

Gunfire cracked as the Garrison troops fired their muskets into the air for the ceremony.

There were few Americans here, as the burial of the previous heads of the military and those lost in the previous battle was a matter of personal and national loss.

Eren observed the wooden caskets being lowered and forced himself to remain composed.

Not one of those deaths had been necessary.

Pastor Nick of the Order of the Walls had given a small speech, encouraging unity in the name of the goddesses as well as honoring the wishes of the fallen, but Eren hadn't really listened to it.

It had barely been 48 hours since he had discovered what happened.

He and Armin had been waiting for the combined American and Survey Corps team to emerge and confirm that Rod Reiss was in fact dead; instead they came out of the smoke carrying a woman that was covered up by Survey Corps capes.

It was later that night that he learned the truth.

_Eren… Dina Fritz is alive. She ate what was left of Rod Reiss and inherited his Titan…_

He didn't know how to feel.

She hadn't woken up to his knowledge, and he hadn't sought to speak with her yet, too busy focusing on the facts of the situation in the aftermath.

Burials, a new queen, new commanders… hell, a new society.

The news of the world beyond the walls was out.

He glanced around at the crowd of civilians.

Some were staring at the burial with a look of disorientation and uncertainty.

_Now what?_

Most, however, were staring at the girl in a military uniform walking amongst the families of the deceased.

_Historia really is taking this Queen role seriously…_

It was admirable if anything.

She looked just as hurt and worried as many of the parents in the crowd.

Some simply nodded and thanked her for her condolences, but he saw more than one angrily point a finger at her or shoot a look of frustration in her direction.

He wondered what they were saying.

He was certain he heard one angrily declare "you will pay for what your father did!"

His hand balled into a fist.

_Why?! Why the hell should kids pay for the sins of their parents?! Did they do anything wrong?!_

It angered him more than he cared to admit, and just as he felt like he was about to explode, a hand grabbed his own.

He turned to look at the exhausted eyes of Mikasa Ackerman, not saying anything as she tried to calm him down without knowing exactly what was wrong.

Eren turned and faced the floor, not letting go of the girl's hand.

_I'm tired… so… tired… but damn it, so is everyone!_

He had lost about half the people he had trained with, he found out the fate of his father, and had fought in a major battle all in a period shorter than 24 hours.

His thoughts, however, lingered on something darker, something he wasn't able to explain.

_How did I know Rod had a serum that would help me achieve the hardening ability of the Armored Titan?_

Eren's mind shifted to exactly that, the warm hand of the girl next to him becoming an afterthought.

A part of him wanted to assume that it had to do with whatever ability Rod had used, maybe when the Founder within him was activated it transferred some of Rod's knowledge or memories-

His thought process stopped at the word.

_Memories…_

Mikasa Ackerman wasn't usually an emotional person.

It wasn't that she would hide her emotions, she just rarely had them.

She was so busy ensuring her family was safe, she honestly didn't have the time to get extremely angry or irritated or happy or sad.

She was a girl with priorities.

Still, she did have emotions, and she did feel them more often than she would care to admit.

Right now, for instance, she wanted to comfort her adopted brother.

She had notice a look in his eyes, likely anger, perhaps justified perhaps not, but anger nonetheless.

She had reached out to grab his arm in order to get his attention and try to remind him to be more mature given the solemn occasion, but instead decided a slightly bolder maneuver.

She had directly grabbed his hand.

It seemed to have the desired effect, much to her surprise, and Eren seemed to calm down rather quickly.

It made her feel a bittersweet sense of satisfaction, at least a little. She felt content in being able to share with the one she cared for the most, the some boy who had rescued her so long ago.

Suddenly she felt the grip on her hand tighten and she turned to look at Eren.

He was hiding it well, but she recognized the look in the young man's eyes.

She had seen it only a few times before, and it was always a sign that something was wrong.

"Eren?" she asked in a whisper.

The boy turned to look at her, saying nothing before turning to stare back at the burial nearby.

There was no mistaking it.

She tightened her grip on his, unsure if he would ever tell her what left him so shaken, but desperate to reassure him that she would always support him through it.

_No matter what…_

Not twenty meters to his left, Sasha Braus had actually split from the ceremony and gone off on her own.

It was less out of disrespect and more to try and catch up to a pair of mournful parents who had left the ceremony a little earlier.

She saw them as she approached the stables.

"Ah! Mister and Missus Springer!" she called.

The visibly tired pair turned and saw the brown haired girl.

"Oh, hi… you're… Braus, right?"

"Y-yes! I… Um… my condolences…" she said awkwardly.

She wasn't one much for taking things seriously, even in messed up life threatening situations.

She could be starving and stealing food from other starving individuals and still try to act like nothing was wrong… something her father had scolded her for, but still.

Seriousness just wasn't her forte.

"Um… Connie was a fine soldier. He…"

She saw the tired look the parents gave her and she returned a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I want to help you out in any way I can, but I really don't know what to say. He was an excellent soldier when Shiganshina was breached earlier this year, and he was reading a _lot_ about the other world… he would have done great things." she said sadly.

"Thank you." the man said simply before turning, pausing, and then saying "I don't think he would want us to feel worse about it than we already are, so don't force yourself to carry a burden, okay, kid?"

The girl felt the words travel through her like a bullet, and only found herself able to nod a little.

"Take care out there, Miss Braus." the man said, and the pair left the room.

Sasha found herself alone for a moment.

She took a few steps back and supported herself on the nearby wall, on the verge of finally breaking down now that she was out of view of her fellow cadets. Her jaw clenched, her throat tightened, her hands balled into fists, but before the tears could stream, she was interrupted.

"Those Connie's parents?" a familiar voice asked.

She whirled around to see a young man with a tired look on his face.

_Lot of those today…_

"Oh, hey, Jean… yeah, they just left."

He nodded, and took a similar position on the wall opposite her.

The look of defeat was on both their faces.

"So… now what?" she asked, forcing her emotions down once again.

"I… I don't know. I think the Survey Corps is going to start exploring the lands beyond the walls in person, try to find that port where they turn people into titans… I don't know."

"You regret staying with us instead of signing up with the MPs?"

Jean said nothing.

"I kind of wish we had just stuck with the Garrison. I mean… I don't know, just feels like… like…"

"A heavy burden?" he tried to finish for her.

"A pain in the ass, yes."

Jean chortled.

"Yeah… but we signed up for it, I… we could've asked to be transferred… now it's our pain in the ass to carry."

"Right… I don't regret staying; I just wish this wouldn't have happened like this."

Jean nodded.

There was a long pause then, neither of them speaking.

"Think Historia will implement some new otherworldly foods?"

…

"So about letting the American food chains in…"

"Shut up, Aurile." Kenny angrily said, stabbing a knife into the table before heading over to take a seat.

Historia eyed the knife nervously before glancing at the familiar man.

Oh, she recognized him.

The older Ackerman seemed to notice without looking at her and paused before taking the knife back and grabbing a seat.

The man turned to the new queen and simply said "I did my part already, the Military Police officers that survived and American forces in the capital can handle security from here. If you want to get rid of me-"

"No, no… I… let's have a… a fresh start. The advisory will remain an advisory on matters we in the military may not be as well versed in until we can properly implement an election system, you'll help us with security until we can get MP numbers back on track, they could really use a person from the underground in training them… then you guys can retire and not bother anyone ever again. Agreed?"

Kenny eyed the girl.

She looked like her uncle, but instead of asking for him, a killer, to forgive her for the sins of past rulers, she was visibly more in control, so even if he wanted to abandon human society and live out his days alone as soon as possible, regretting or not regretting what he did, she might not let that happen yet.

_As if she was saying "I can still use you to fix this mess, you're not going anywhere."_

So instead, he sat down.

He noticed the papers on the table and began to read them.

"These were proposals the Americans wanted to discuss before the… attack by the previous ruler. You can read over them while we wait for the military officers to arrive."

Kenny nodded and began doing just that.

_Security, new weapons… modernizing industry, electricity… commerce, food chains…_

He heard footsteps drawing closer and turned to see the recently sworn in commanders and their personal advisors.

The new head of the military, a relatively well known old soldier named Claude Duvalier, accompanied by… no one.

Commander of the Garrison, Kitz Woermann, accompanied by Rico Brzenska.

Commander of the Survey Corps, Hanji Zoe, accompanied by Mike Zacharias.

_Not Levi? Huh… wonder where the little guy went…_

Unofficially representing the Military Police was Kenny Ackerman, also alone, but if the American officer walking with the other commanders was any indication, he might not be the only one.

Following them were three other men, similar but not quite the same, military uniform to the American.

_The British, the Germans, and the Japanese…_

Kenny Ackerman had not seen an oriental soldier throughout the entire mess that had been the talks with the other world, so he wondered what was one doing here now.

The group silently sat down on the large table and waited.

Historia cleared her throat, and said "Well, I… believe we should begin."

Another pause, everyone kind of waiting for the first subject of discussion to be decided.

It was the new premier, Duvalier, who spoke first, saying "I believe we should first discuss the plans for the military branches going forward."

Hanji immediately said "I agree, we need to begin modernizing if the world is as hostile as Grisha Yeager stated."

Not just Yeager, but the shifters had all practically corroborated the books by the father of Eren Yeager.

All eyes turned to the previous advisory, and it was Aurile who sighed before speaking.

"Well, we had allowed the factories to begin preparing for… potential changes. Um… I believe the information I had received stated that they could begin producing modern ammunition as soon as they got the blueprints… guns on the other hand…"

The German officer said "We saw some of the factories, adapting them to create firearms that don't require long periods of reloading should not be too difficult. That said, we do not believe you will be producing weapons anywhere close to the tanks and aircraft the Americans have brought forth."

Everyone nodded.

It was simply impossible, even with the blueprints.

Their factories had mostly been used to produce the cheap but efficient ODM gear and its blades, as well as muskets, canons, and ammunition for both.

A far cry from tanks and planes let alone missiles and bombs.

"We had brought a list of older rifles you should be able to produce with ease, each with a specific purpose, of course." the British officer said.

All eyes turned to Kenny Ackerman.

"I will have to see them myself… as well as get the opinion of some factory heads, see what could work better for them."

Everyone seemed to agree on that.

"Alright then… big issue here… modernization. The capital has some plumbing and as well better hygene… above ground… which reminds me that we need to start moving people out of the Underground."

The old advisory paled at the suggestion.

Kenny spoke before any of them got it in their heads to disagree with the new queen.

"I agree, but we need a vetting process. A lot of the people there are criminals, not out of need either, and thanks to Reiss, many have no idea about the Americans and the world beyond the walls."

Historia said "Could we use them to resettle Wall Maria?"

"Lots of territory, lots of places to sneak away and hide in… gangs could become a big problem." the British officer mumbled.

It was the German who said "And given the political climate in the US, I do not think American forces engaging criminals operating in the forest is something they can afford right now."

Hanji said "The Garrison could police the area."

Kitz Woerman said "Yes, but it could also leave our own areas undermanned. We used to deal with gangs hiding in the forests before Wall Maria fell, and just letting the entire underground population be free in the area… it could cause a lot of problems."

Colonel Parker didn't say anything, looking frustrated.

Historia said "Then what about workers?"

A pause as eyes turned to her.

"We let them and their families out of the underground, and send them to work in modernizing wall Maria. What we need now is manual labor, right?"

Heads nodded.

"Then in exchange for their service, they'll be put to work in building railroads, communication stations, basically what we need to begin modernizing. We could have minor Garrison and American forces keeping watch, and it allows us to clear out the underground."

No one seemed to be opposed to the idea.

"Right, that's settled… now… the mutual alliance situation has hit a… snag?" she asked Parker.

"Representative Caine is… well… dealing with that as we speak."

Historia seemed uncomfortable then.

Wanting to avoid the complicated talk for the moment, she turned to the oriental soldier and said "Oh, I don't think we have met."

In somewhat good English, the JSDF officer simply said "Ah- um… I was head of security for the Japanese representatives. I was told that the issue of oriental citizens being systematically eradicated would be talked about and was told to listen in."

Historia turned to Ackerman.

Ackerman turned to glare at Deltoffe.

Deltoffe in turn sheepishly said "With… with the exception of Mikasa Ackerman… we… we believe all citizens of oriental descent are dead within the three walls."

The Japanese officer shook his head slowly.

Before Historia could say anything, the man said "I don't think my leaders blame you, or anyone other than Reiss… the problem is definitely going to affect international relations going forward, though."

Historia winced.

"That's right… a country that murdered almost a whole group of people isn't exactly a positive ally."

"You would be… surprised. No, the real issue is that it gives certain people something to hit the Americans and those countries actually trying to seek an alliance with you in order to benefit themselves or their allies."

A pause.

The NATO officers eyed the JSDF soldier.

"What? I'm not wrong."

The British officer said "A little tact goes a long way, lieutenant, um… Youji Itami."

_Apparently the British man can read Kanji._

The man said "I agree, but these people are at risk of being destroyed by every other country in this world. If we want to help them, then we really need to start discussing how we're going to sell it to countries that the US doesn't allow through the Gate."

Historia turned to Parker.

Parker said "We should discuss this later. Once we know how things are going back home we can decide on a course of action. Now, what's next on the list…"

Aurile quickly said "I am somewhat curious about these… food chains."

…

"You really shouldn't be out and about."

Both Petra and Eld stammered as they said the same words to each other.

They had both been headed out of the American infirmary with plans of their own, one with bandages and stitches holding his gunshot wound together, the other with a slight limp, but no longer carrying bandages on her ankle.

"I guess you heard about the mission, right?" Eld asked, tired.

"Yeah… you think if we both ask him-"

"No, but it's worth a try."

"The answer will be a very emphatic _no _regardless of what case you make."

Both scouts whirled around to find their very stoic captain, still in his formal uniform, staring at them.

Before either Petra or Eld could say anything, Levi continued.

"You'll both be good to go on other missions. Queen is planning to modernize and fast, and we will have to be exploring the lands beyond the wall in earnest soon enough. I promise you'll both be clear for the next big mission. But not this one." he finished with a sigh before walking past them towards the exit.

"Thank you, captain!" Petra managed to say loudly.

Levi paused and glanced at the girl.

He glanced at Eld who quickly said "Yes, thank you, captain!"

Levi said nothing as he exited the building.

Eld turned a questioning glance towards the girl.

"I heard the captain lost his original team when he first joined the corps. Not sure if he has lost anyone since, so…"

"Ah, trying to show we're there for each other?"

She nodded.

"Well, nothing wrong with that. I suppose we will just have to wait a while before actually heading out to these major operations. He did say we get to go on the next big mission."

Petra said "Yeah, but it kind of bothers me that we'll be missing out on the next big exploration beyond the walls. It's been five years, and now we know what to look for."

"Think they'll find that place? Where they turn the people into titans?"

"Hopefully. I sincerely hope they drop a few bombs on it, too."

…

If there had ever been a more chaotic time in Washington D.C, the Speaker of the House didn't remember it.

Her party had suffered quite the upset in the 2014 midterms, and it didn't matter how much they claimed Gerrymandering and misinformation had attributed to the victory of their opposition, they had lost their majorities in the House and in the Senate.

They had just barely regained a majority in the House in the previous midterm elections, a victory to be sure, but not the wave they had tried to achieve.

Still, it gave her and her colleagues the power to challenge the current president, and they had been working on doing just that.

Then the Gate opened up in New York, and things had been… complicated.

She had been in favor of sending troops in order to help the people living in that… strange new world. A humanitarian mission, one that needed the firepower the American military could dish out, of course, but that as to handle the giant monsters that existed in that world, not to fight the people.

It was good for Public Relations, a scenario where _everyone_ got to be the hero.

But the news reaching her now…

_The president authorized the deployment of a GBU-43 Massive Ordinance Air Blast, a unit of MLRS batteries, and a thousand more soldiers in less than 24 hours?!_

Well, not exactly.

The GBU-43 had been authorized several weeks prior, and the MLRS batteries were already on standby in New York.

The issue was the deployment of more men.

Better put, the cause behind that deployment was the problem.

_Over a hundred people dead, including at least two United States Army soldiers and the heads of the military in that other world._

The news was all over the story.

The king had orchestrated an attack on American forces, including the regiment that had been training under them. the battle in the capital had resulted in many civilians casualties, and the previous king had been, to put it mildly, deposed, his daughter taking his place.

The Speaker rubbed her temples and glared at the documents a certain someone had left her to look over.

_Guess the Articles of Impeachment have to get delayed…_

This wasn't as simple as the President screwing things up, or breaking the law… this was an attack on American forces that had been assisting the population of a small, under developed country.

_She had seen this before…_

The course of action followed then had, of course, been obvious: pull out, they don't want us there.

And it had been done.

But now…

Her phone rang.

She picked it up.

"Yes?"

"Speaker, its Daniel Caine."

She frowned.

The new American representative to the other world was not someone she particularly cared for, but...

"Yes?"

"I take it you got my documents by this point, and I will assume you read them."

"I have." she mumbled, looking out her office window.

The sun was reflecting off the capital, giving the city a warm glow.

"Great, then you know what the new leadership wants."

"But is it true that the world beyond the Gate is that hostile?"

"As much as we can tell, yes. We have an operation currently underway to locate a port and officially begin communicating with other nations, but we have yet to establish such connections."

She paused for a moment, staring at a young woman walking a stroller with a baby down the street, before simply saying.

"We cannot start an alliance that will result in us going to war so quickly."

"We know, and the president knows."

"Good."

Another pause.

"Abandoning them will result in their genocide... or worse... You do not want to go against the president on this."

"Then they better make a convincing case for themselves."

Another pause.

"You know, I thought for once we could agree on something… okay, Nancy, what do you want?"

"Oh, I think we will agree on this. Bring their leadership- not the queen, their _leadership_, to the House in order to answer questions in a public setting. If we are convinced, we will back whatever decision the president makes."

"I think the Queen wants to talk to the United Nations."

"Oh, good, she can kiss his ass on national television."

"Trust me, Nancy, Historia Reiss isn't a puppet."

"Good."

There was another pause.

"I don't want anyone else to die, Daniel, but I have to put the interests of the American people first, that's why they elected me."

"Yeah, yeah, save it for the press briefing… whatever choice we make this month… going forward isn't going to be easy."

"On that we can agree on."

…

Ryan watched through binoculars how the terrain shifted from dirt to sand almost immediately.

The M1 Abrams was sitting silently, its sisters not too far behind, surrounding a group of Survey Corps scouts and American operatives manning a Global Hawk drone.

"Anything yet?" Darnell asked over the radio.

"No titans at all."

It was Captain Levi who replied.

They were a fair distance from the walls at this point, and their plan was to locate the port the Warriors had described over a month ago. They had quickly headed south and figured the distance wasn't that great.

_Has it really been a month?_

He remembered meeting the dark haired teen, noticing how she had been curious about his video games. He remembered how he had been told she could be dangerous.

He remembered the spiteful glare she had given him once he turned her in for stealing his console.

He remembered how she had hidden her delight at him letting her borrow the console once the met again.

He remembered how she had returned it on her own, probably looking forward to learning more of it later.

To be honest, he had grown somewhat attached to the teenager in the month they had known each other.

Now the girl was dead, and he still couldn't believe it.

Ryan glanced at the side of the tank.

The turret had been repaired after that attack; the burned area cleaned and fixed up with relative ease.

The Army had brought many extra parts for repairs, assuming titans would have given them more trouble than they actually did.

As usual, it was humans who proved to be more troublesome.

Darnell glanced at him and said "How you holding up?"

"Fine, just… I don't know, I never thought we would deal with this. Not here, you know?"

_For once we were the good guys… for once we were doing good things…_

Darnell said "I ever tell you about the rat I kept as a pet back home?"

"Dude, what?"

"Yup, back in Iowa, lived in a little farm with my grandparents. I had to clean the barn every afternoon, and I found a rat near the water tanks. It didn't seem to be scared of me or anything, so I remember thinking it was cute and I gave it bits of corn… thought I was doing something nice."

"Sounds more like you were doing something retarded."

"I was like eight, get off my back. Look, the point is that just because we think we're doing something good or bad, it doesn't automatically _make_ it good or bad."

"Bro, that's so deep you should write a song about it." Ryan groaned.

"You think?"

"Got something." an operative said.

Ryan quickly turned to look behind him, noticing the operatives staring at the portable computer screen behind them.

Levi approached the Americans and said "Is it occupied?"

It was a wall with a large port, unlike any of the ones seen within the walls.

The men shook their heads.

"Not that we can tell… no ships, either."

"But it's there."

They nodded.

Levi narrowed his eyes and said "Well, that should help us quite a bit moving forward."

"Our orders aren't to initiate contact yet, right?" Darnell asked.

"No, just make sure the road is clear. Another team will take the port next week."

Ryan and Darnell nodded.

"I'll keep the hawk up, see if we can find any ships or signs of people." the operative said.

Levi said nothing, walking up to the nearby hills, and staring towards nothing.

There were small signs of a past civilization still visible here and there.

Levi remembered stopping in one for a brief period during his first scouting trip.

_Bro sure is a stubborn one, isn't he?_

_Levi, we can do this. Believe in us!_

He stared at the endless expanse of cloudless blue sky above him.

That was before he was a captain, before he had really known the terror of the titans, believing he already knew the worst the world had to offer living in the underground.

Back then, as many as 30% of new recruits were expected to die to titans.

With the titans gone, that number was meaningless.

He briefly wondered if there was more he could have done.

_Don't. You'll regret it. Memories of regret will only dull your future decisions._

The echo of the words said by the only man Levi thought could see more than him rung in his mind.

Outwardly, his inner turmoil was well hidden, years of abuse in the Underground and years of experience with the Survey Corps had made him an expert at masking his own feelings.

Not like he was the only one, every combat veteran had to mask his emotions to some extent.

He tried to focus on the positives for once.

Things were improving, genuinely improving, little by little.

He was certain Erwin could have reached this goal even without the Americans.

All the tools were there, almost set up exactly to allow for the Survey Corps to win.

Eren Yeager and his father, the illegitimate heir to the throne, and a king so desperate to maintain the rule of a god he could not speak to would all eventually lead to the truth being uncovered either by Erwin Smith, or someone else.

The only question was if the dead would be more or less without the Americans.

"Captain!"

Levi turned, seeing the tired American tanker say "Radio call for you. You are to head back for some briefing."

Levi nodded, turning to look at the blue expanse once more, his expression never changing.

He walked back to his horse.

_Keep moving forward…_

…

Eren stared at the woman as she looked out the window.

Mikasa turned to the doctor and asked "Are you sure it's safe?" for the twentieth time.

"She hasn't transformed yet and has expressed very clear desire to _avoid_ transforming, ever."

"We'll let you know if something's wrong, doctor." Eren said before knocking on the door.

"Be careful. We don't know what she knows for sure."

Neither Eren nor Mikasa said anything.

The door opened and the woman stared at the two children who had been forced to grow up much faster than they ever should have.

"You… you must be Grisha's… children."

Eren nodded, but Mikasa avoided the question.

"If it's alright with you, we wouldn't mind… talking." Mikasa said slowly.

Dina nodded, stepping back into her room.

The Americans had given her some more appropriate clothing, and it seemed that she was at the very least adjusting to her circumstances in a positive way.

Eren noticed the pair of history books from the other world that had been transcribed into their written language lay open on the woman's bed. She was likely catching up on them.

The door closed and the three not related but still somewhat related humans stayed silent.

It was mostly out of courtesy from the part of Eren and Mikasa, neither really wanting not make the woman uncomfortable but both knowing they would have to in order to get any answers.

Dina spoke first.

"It is so strange, seeing these people… so different and yet the same."

There was another awkward pause before she turned back to face the pair and spoke.

"I… I take it you have questions for me?"

Eren nodded, he would prefer it if he could sit down to talk, but maybe standing up wouldn't be a bad idea.

"You and Grisha, you… you were part of an underground group of Eldians that wanted to restore the Empire, right?" he asked.

She nodded.

"So you were really going to sacrifice your son just for a chance at regaining the power of the Founder?" Eren asked.

Dina visibly stiffened.

She sat down on her bed and stared at her hands for a moment.

She forced herself to stare at the young man who was technically family.

"Yes. We believed it would stop the suffering in the mainland and across the world. We knew… at least, I think we knew, that there definitely had been mistakes made by previous rulers and that we could avoid them, but we were all so caught up in the plan or- at least the idea of one. It was simple but it required things to go down perfectly… Grisha was hard on Zeke, I… I wouldn't have allowed it if I didn't think it was the only way we could be free." She stated; a tired but firm look in her face.

Eren frowned, glancing at Mikasa. The girl looked as stoic as ever, seemingly unaffected by the statement.

She looked at him and immediately got the worried look she had gotten earlier on in the day.

_Gotta hide my anger better…_

He turned back to Dina.

"Guess you paid the price then." Eren sighed.

The room was dead silent, Dina staring at the young man, knowing she had been wrong, but probably willing to defend her choice even though she knew it had been wrong and the consequences unbearable.

"My father succeeded, though. I know he killed the royal family and took the Founder… now he passed it on to me." Eren said simply.

The blonde haired woman winced.

"I want to know more about the Founder, about how it works. The current Queen was kept out of the… loop, so to speak. She doesn't know any more than the rest of us, and if we want to solve anything, we need to figure out how the Founding Titan works."

The woman shakily asked "So, the King is dead and… we are finally back in possession of the Founder?"

"Essentially." Eren replied.

The woman wiped her eyes, mumbling the words "Grisha, you idiot…"

There was another pause.

"Why did your family stay in the mainland? Wouldn't it have been safer in Paradis?"

The woman shook her head.

"The King, he… he felt that the sins of the past were too much. My grandfather thought it wasn't very fair to blame the descendants for the actions of the ancestor. I believe that was before Marley took over, so it may have been more convenient to stay behind than join a hermit kingdom… I always thought that I could do more by staying in Marley."

Eren glanced at the woman's hand briefly.

He remembered Rod placing his and Historia's hand on his body, activating the power of the Founder.

_If I touch her, could I do the same?_

Instead, he simply said "I see." Now then… can you help us with uncovering the secrets of the Founder?"

The woman glanced outside the window once more.

"Can you trust the Americans not to use this power for themselves? It can destroy the world, you know."

"They don't need it, and I don't want it. Not for global domination at least." he added.

The woman turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"If I may ask you another question… what exactly _do _you want?"

Eren remembered the day Wall Maria fell, the screams he heard as people tried to run away, his mother not among them.

He remembered the promise he made that day.

_I'll kill them… every last one!_

He stared at the woman and simply said "I want to purge the titans from this world."

…

Kenny Ackerman picked up the both odd yet familiar rifle, beginning to inspect it.

"That there is what we would call an M1903 Springfield. Lasted us half a century before it was phased out and it's still in use today by hunters all over, maybe not the best gun out there, but she cleans up nicely." the Marine General said, still weak despite his recovery.

General Connor had only recently been given the go ahead to leave the hospital room, and he wanted to make the most of it by showing off weapons the new military of the walls could use.

_They have a lot of options… granted, old options, but…_

"I take it the bullets feed through here and… this bolt-" Kenny pulled the dark bolt of the American rifle back with a satisfying _**Clack**_, "chambers the rounds… yes?"

The General nodded.

"Given the lack of semi-automatic weapons here, bolt action rifles would definitely serve as good weapons for a police force, and even military I would say. She's a _very_ good gun, and not too far from what your factories can produce."

"Feels good, too…" Kenny mumbled.

Connor glanced further down the room and noticed a platinum blonde trying to figure out one of the handguns.

He walked over to Rico and asked "Thoughts?"

The girl put the century old British revolver down.

"I'm too used to a blade. That said, the need to pull the… hammer? Yes, the need to pull it back before firing makes it relatively inefficient if we want to implement them along with our ODM gear."

Connor nodded.

"Yeah, assuming Marley will use titans in order to fight its battles we can assume the ODM Gear will be here to stay."

"Actually, General, we were working on a project to better the ODM gear based on the records from the Interior Police."

Connor glanced at Hanji Zoe.

The girl placed down a regular M1 Garand before saying "We call them Thunder Spears! We can attach those rockets the Interior Police used against you to our ODM gear in order to do more damage without the need to get close to the titans."

In theory that sounded amazing… in practice…

_How many men got their heads blown off training with RPGs?_

Connor said "That could get dangerous in training, especially with the live models. But it sounds like an effective weapon. We would need to focus on the training regimen."

Hanji nodded and said "Premier Duvalier will oversee the planning with your help, of course! We need to begin preparations, so the sooner we can begin the training, the better."

Connor nodded.

"So… still no word about a mutual defense pact?" Rico said after a moment of silence.

She was now holding on to an old M1911A1, which seemed to be a bit too large for her hands.

"Representative Caine is working on it. Congress is going to consider it pretty soon, though."

Hanji sighed.

"Would it be possible for us to go and make our case?" she asked.

"Sorry, that one isn't up to me."

Hanji groaned a "Yes, but it doesn't make it less frustrating."

Kitz Woermann approached the group and said "I believe these weapons will work just fine for the Garrison forces. Once we begin producing our own, we could have every soldier armed with the newer weapons in short order." he said, specifically eyeing the M1911 Rico was holding.

Connor said "Well, let's just see how things go. Keep in mind these are still leagues below what we can bring, but hopefully it will give you a better fighting chance against Marley assuming they refuse peace negotiations."

_And in case we can't help you anymore._

Kenny Ackerman said "It would be preferable to establish a type of ammunition for the entire military, that way we can focus on one or two types of rifle at a time and actually commence mass production."

"Yes, with a list of parts we could start pumping these out as fast as we did for our ODM gear!" Hanji said, somewhat invested.

"Well… hope for the best plan for the worst."

…

Ilse Langnar knocked on the office door of the new US representative.

She still wasn't used to the strange young man.

He looked like he was moments away from screaming at someone.

_Or crying…_

Nothing like the occasionally frustrated Representative Kelly, but maybe the other woman was simply better at hiding her frustrations.

"Come in." his voice called after the second knock.

Ilse opened it.

"Ah, Miss Langnar, good… let me cut right to the chase, would you be willing to work as a guide for individuals heading into New York from this side of the Gate should the need arise?"

"I… don't see why not." Ilse said.

_Didn't even offer me a seat…_

"Okay, great… before you ask, Congress wants to have a hearing on the actions of the president on this whole… fiasco, and they want to hear it from your leaders."

Ilse paled.

"Yeah, this could mean if we stay and help you or stay and not help you… or pull out completely."

Ilse sighed and half asked, half stated "I take it they won't ask me any questions… they probably see me as a puppet."

"They do, which is why they want witnesses to… everything."

"Everything?" she asked, smiling slightly at the demand for meticulous record keeping.

At least _that_ she could appreciate.

"Everything from how first contact went down to the armed engagement with Rod Reiss last week."

He put a paper on the desk before mumbling "Historia also wants to talk at the UN, hopefully get support from other countries not in NATO or allied with us."

"International support?" she asked.

"It wouldn't hurt, especially if Marley is half as bad as the books suggest. I think you already know what Americans think of oppressive regimes."

Images of a dictator getting dragged through the streets in blood covered clothes raced into her mind and Ilse felt that she could smile at the fact that the people who wanted her dead for existing might face a similar fate.

_Keyword "might"…_

"But won't that means she will try to get support from enemy nations?" Ilse asked.

"If our policy for the Nobility and their allies isn't an indication, we ar _very _flexible when it comes to who our enemies are... To an extent of course." the man added, sounding frustrated about something.

The US did tend to work with hostile nations when it was beneficial, but Ilse wondered if there could be another reason for allowing Historia to reach out to other nations.

_Guess I'll find out soon enough._

"So… when is this vital meeting due?"

"Couple of weeks, but you should know that the guests have to arrive early."

Ilse nodded.

"When do we leave?"

…

"…Yesterday morning the Chinese Navy and the United States Navy got uncomfortably close to one another as the People's Republic of China continues making claims to the Pacific Ocean. With US Forces operating within the gate, China has increased the number of incidents with American destroyers, leading to heightened tensions in the region."

The American president rubbed his temples as the newswoman droned on and on, his cabinet and generals hadn't exactly been a lot of help.

_Focus inward; get our boys out of there!_

_We need to show strength now, mister president! Reinforce the areas between mainland China and Taiwan, combat exercises with The ROK and Japan… a real show of force!_

_We need to secure our gains, not risk them all! It will look weak to retreat now!_

Now they were gone, leaving him and his vice president to watch the late night news.

He turned to his vice president.

"Mickey… do you think I'm crazy?"

"No, mister president." the white haired man replied courtly.

"I feel a bit insane for leaving the decision up to our opponents. Political and otherwise."

The vice president said "If you bypassed them they would call you a dictator, and even if it fell on death ears… whatever we do next-"

"Yeah… it won't be easy regardless."

"We had to send in boys from The Fighting 69th Infantry- national guardsmen- in order to help keep order… if we stay we will need more than just their support, we'll need more men, more materials, more ammunition..."

"You'll need congress on your side."

The president sighed.

"I'll need more than congress."

He glanced at the TV once more; the MSNBC broadcast showing pictures of the men who had died in combat.

"Leaving means letting an entire population of people die, staying could mean another Vietnam or Afghanistan. If only…" he sighed before his face seemed to twitch slightly, as if something had smacked him.

"Mister president?"

"Mike, I got an idea!"

_Oh, no…_

"Sir?"

"Our research into the other world is well underway, right? Have some of the big theories been confirmed true?"

"That depends on-"

"Actually, it doesn't matter. Tell your wife you'll be busy these next few weeks."

"Of couse, mister president." the vice president said, not really sure what he was agreeing to.

"Great! Let's get moving! I want a travel plan written up, security, alerting world leaders…"

…

Djel Sannes stepped out of the dark home and looked around in mild surprise.

"Come on, get out of here you bloody waste!" Crow ordered, poking the man with his carbine.

The now presumably unemployed MP turned and asked "Are you… actually allowing me to leave?"

Crow made a face that suggested mild irritation, but simply said "Let me put it this way. You have some intrinsic value, and by that I mean, you are more used to everyone alive and working than dead and rotting."

Sannes glanced behind him as a few women carrying boxes stared at him.

They smiled slightly before going on their way.

He turned back to the SAS officer.

"What exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Not up to me… preferably, factory work, but you don't know much about that, so… I believe you are to report to the old MP barracks… uh… here."

The British officer handed him a piece of paper with an address.

Sannes read it over, and looked at the man from another world.

He looked bored standing by the door to the mostly abandoned home.

"You are not American… that much I can tell."

Crow's expression didn't change.

"I take it we aren't so different, you and I…"

Crow shrugged before smiling slightly.

"I guess we now have one thing in common."

"Ah?"

"We both have queens on our little islands. Now scram, I have to clear my own things."

With that, the officer closed the door.

Sannes didn't react at the final statement, mostly surprised to be alive.

He turned; walking towards the address he had been given.

American helicopters flew above him, a pair of the larger ones that were carrying huge crates under them.

He wondered what exactly was happening. He knew the Military Police had been all but destroyed, the advisory captured, now serving the new queen after his king was… well… annihilated.

Supposedly the soft spoken king had transformed into a titan, forcing the Americans to drop a massive bomb on him and even that hadn't been enough.

But that didn't really matter.

The old king was dead, and his inexperienced daughter was ruling, or… more or less directing things in order to do what the Americans wanted.

But he found himself not really caring if she was a puppet or not.

He and Ralph were alive, seemed to still have some degree of value, and-

_Oh, damn it all!_

The address was the entrance to one of the Military Police stations in the capital, but outside was a very young, and obviously tired MP and a certain woman, now wearing clothing that was most definitely _not_ from this side of the Gate.

"You…" he hissed.

The CIA woman was smoking a comically large cigar, a pair of aviators on her head.

"Aw, did you miss me?"

The rookie MP presumably in charge of the booth asked "Um, do you know him?"

"Oh yeah, we had to catch him for an operation; gave us somewhat useful information, even if it didn't help us stop the main attack."

Sannes stiffened.

The girl let out a frustrated sigh before saying "Oh, he's one of _them?_"

The CIA woman smiled slightly.

"Whatever. We need all the MPs we can get right now. You can give me your name, rank, and basic information here, sir. But if you're one of the Interior Police not with Commander Ackerman, then I take it you'll be helping train the new batch." the girl said, handing Sannes a piece of paper and a wooden pencil.

Sannes asked "New batch?"

The girl replied "After the king practically murdered most of our forces in that failed attack, we're kind of shorthanded. The Americans are keeping order for the time being, but we need to get back on track, so we drafted elements of the 105th Trainee to specifically ready for Police duties in the Interior."

"And you're one of them?" Sannes asked, handing her the now written information.

She shook her head, taking it.

"No, mister… Sannes. I'm still just Private Hitch Dreyse of the 104th. Go on inside."

Sannes glared at the CIA woman before stepping into the barracks.

"Why not just get rid of guys like that…?" Hitch mumbled, not really meant to be heard, but the CIA woman heard her.

The American took a long drag from her cigar before turning to the blonde girl and speaking.

"Cause we need professional killers like that now that the whole world wants your kind dead… probably my kind too if things get really bad. To their credit, I doubt anyone would know it was him that killed their loved ones, assuming his victims had or have any loved ones left. It's ugly, I know, but if he can better prepare those kids for the coming storm then good, but… well, if he can't…"

The CIA woman smirked slightly, as she lifted her arm up to point at a nearby wall. She lifted her thumb up and kept her index finger level, seemingly making the shape of a gun.

"Bang" she said simply.

Hitch cringed away slightly, unsure if the action had left her more disturbed or weirded out.

…

The change was obvious once inside.

Instead of lounging around or milling about with no real purpose, the new Military Police regiment was neatly divided into sections, each doing its own form of training out in the field.

The constant *_crack* _of the new rifles assured Sannes that this really wasn't going to be the stagnant and corrupt police force that pretended to keep order while his men cleaned everything up.

"Hold the weapon steady, handle her with care…"

"Ralph!"

The slightly older man turned, waving once he recognized his previously captured colleague.

Sannes considered asking how his comrade had dealt with the changes as he had been released a day earlier, but decided to keep things professional.

"Those are the new rifles?"

Raplh nodded.

"They sold us enough for a regiment, ammunition, too. The plan is for us to make our own soon, but for the time being, we're working with what the Americans sold us."

"What did we pay for them?"

Ralph shrugged.

"I believe there are some resources here the Americans wish to have access to. I don't really know. Point is, they are very accurate. These kids are already better marksmen than I could ever be with our old muskets."

Sannes glanced at the ammunition.

The bullets truly were fascinating little marbles of technology. Gunpowder, bullet, igniter, all rolled into one.

"Making a fine army here, gentlemen! Keep up the good work!" an irritating voice sounded off.

Sannes whirled around and saw Kenny Ackerman, not even in uniform, eyeing the more than happy officers training the new line of MPs.

"Djel! Good to see you alive and well!" Kenny called.

"You damned traitor…"

"Hey, now, if Rod had things his way you would all be dead! Besides, I am serving the new queen, same as you and Ralph."

Djel shifted uncomfortably.

"Or would you prefer we all give up what we have and spend the rest of our lives in an underground prison?"

"You think you can atone with this?!"

"No, probably not. But I can work to keep these kids alive, maybe help achieve a peace that only our king knew of. I don't know, Sannes, I just prefer this to being dead! Now stick to helping Ralph with the target practice, we'll need to teach the kids about close quarters combat later on… I have to go." he said, walking off.

"Yeah… wait, what are you doing?"

Kenny turned and glanced at the man, rubbing the back of his head for a moment.

"See, that?" Kenny asked, pointing to a corner in the barracks.

A small group of people were standing by a carriage, each with basic tools, though most of them hammers. The carriage itself, an old wooden thing, had several chopped down trees and wood on it.

Sannes studied the men surrounding the carriage, noting they were not soldiers.

His eyes widened.

Kenny groaned.

"Surely you noticed on the way over here."

Sannes spoke in a shocked tone "Did… did the queen allow this?"

"Yeah. Can't just keep a part of the population underground." Kenny replied.

"W-what exactly are they planning on doing with them? Most of them are thieves, or killers!"

Kenny walked up to the man and said "You never lived down there, and no matter how much you patrolled their areas, you don't know how people live in the underground. You're right; odds are most of them have killed someone at some point in their lives. You don't get that strong by living by the rules of the nobility. Odds are I'll have to kill a fair bunch of them if they get out of line, too."

Kenny then got very quiet.

"But while the underground is full of strong men working to become stronger, you never realize how much they all have a serious reason to become that strong."

Sannes looked at Kenny with confusion.

"I would equate it to being a drunkard, maybe they get drunk on the feeling of physical strength, or maybe they get drunk on the feeling _of_ the feeling of being strong… or maybe they just have a sister or a kid they have to provide for, then it's a different kind of drunk I would say."

The man paused.

"They're going to be working on building up our… um… oh, damn it, what do they call it? Infrastructure? Something like that… point is, they'll be doing a lot of important work in order to ready our little island for the coming storm, and my men will have to supervise a lot of this construction."

"Coming storm, I keep hearing you talk about a coming storm, what the hell is that?!"

Kenny smiled cruelly.

"What we always prepared, for Sannes. Our complete and utter extinction at the hands of the forces from beyond the wall!" the man said loudly, spreading his arms wide as if to encompass the whole world.

Sannes glared at Kenny for a moment, unsure of what he could say.

Raplh simply said "The king going through with the attack may have doomed us, Sannes. If the Americans choose to leave or give us less support… against an entire world…"

Sannes nodded, a tired sigh demonstrated that he finally understood.

Back then, when titans were the biggest threat, he never cared, trusting the king and the Founder, even if he had no idea what lay beyond the walls.

He had always seen himself separate from the other parts of the population, be it rich, middle class, or poor.

For once, he finally understood.

_We are all on the same boat… like it or not… it's do or die now._

…

The M4A1 was a proven combat weapon.

Entering service in the 1990s, and later becoming the designated replacement to the American workhorse that was the M16, with a shorter barrel and an effective range of 500 yards, she was almost made for the terror that was close quarters battles.

Matt worried that such features would become a larger necessity in the coming days.

He jammed another magazine into his M4 and lifted the carbine up in order to unload on the target a few yards down the field.

"Clear!" he called.

Dave moved up, sticking to the wooden wall, while Jake got up close to Matt.

Dave grabbed something from his pouch, and tossed it into the open door.

He did that, and an alarm sounded.

"At ease! Not bad, boys, not bad!" sergeant Roy called over the radio.

The soldiers relaxed, picking themselves up or stretching as the combat drill had concluded.

The hastily built training ground resembled a shanty town in India, and it wasn't as big as many other training grounds in the US, but it was serving its purpose of drilling smaller squads of men.

"Okay, head back to the barracks, we'll let the devil dogs play for a bit. Ill have you know you beat your own record today, so treat yourselves tonight!"

There was a mild cheer from the men as they headed back to the barracks.

"I think you could've just let go of the trigger a bit sooner." Dave mumbled.

Matt said "Yeah, but then how can I be sure the target is dead? Full auto, little control discipline, bad on my shoulder-"

Jake slapped his hand down on Matt's right shoulder, earning a grunt from the eighteen year old.

"Man, try not to get hurt in training. Like, I know they say that if you're going to get hurt, do it in training and not on the field, but come on, dude."

Matt didn't respond, seeing Ilse approaching them.

"Think she'll bring us some cold water?"

"Hope so. My canteen is all warm from the drill." Dave stated.

"Guys, I saw the-" Ilse began, reaching the three young men, but Matt spoke over her.

"Yeah, you would think they would cool the water a bit, but no, it just gets lukewarm or damn near scalding after a while."

"What?"

"It isn't just mine, right?"

"I do not think-"

Ilse sighed.

"Oh, hi, Ilse." the three said in unison.

She had not brought ice cold bottles of water from the mess hall.

"Guys, while this isn't a permanent goodbye, I would like to thank you for your assistance so far!"

"Huh?"

"Say again?"

"Ne?"

All eyes turned to Dave.

"…Ever since they set up the Wi-Fi my mom calls me and grandma wants me to stick to learning Turkish so I'm kind of… well… kind of mixing it into my English. Like Bar Nerede means- um… uh… hey, Ilse what the hell about permanent goodbye?"

"Geek."

"Shut it."

Ilse stared at the soldiers in silence for a second before speaking.

"Um… yeah, I'm heading to New York for a bit. You guys won't be escorting me."

"Yeah, a MK 19s are probably illegal in that commie hellhole." Matt mumbled.

"Commie? Look, the point is I'll be heading out. Things may be turning for the better… or worse… soon."

Now Matt frowned.

"Well, hope for the best, plan for the worst. You'll be talking to congress?" Jake asked.

Ilse quickly shook her head.

"No, I'll just be assisting the others! I won't even be going to Washington."

"Oh, they're actually going to D.C now?"

Ilse said "Congress is planning on having a hearing on the… attacks… the situation… everything. Her Majesty wants to get international support in case things with the US get less than optimal… we really need to convince everyone that we need help."

Jake turned to Matt, who simply gave an understanding nod.

It was very complicated.

Why should any country intervene on the racial conflict between Eldia and Marley and… the planet?

Eldia had historically oppressed others, now it was suffering oppression.

Matt knew many would see it as a fair result of the millennia of abuse caused by the previous empire.

Marley and other nations wouldn't be able to make a counterargument, either as contact wasn't established yet.

_Still…_

Jake said "You know what? Chin up. If Israel and Egypt were able to form a lasting peace, then maybe we can do something similar here."

Ilse shook her head.

"I don't know if that method would work… all I know is that we have to try. Same as back then." she said with a sigh.

She had pushed forward and managed to gain some support for an American intervention back when that Gate opened.

Now she had to help others do the same.

Matt said "Okay, cool. Anyway, since you're heading to New York and we did such a good job in the drill, you're paying us dinner for tonight."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, get the Marines, too. They're doing pretty good."

"…Maybe I should tell the president to bolster the Army ration budget or something; give you guys more brain food..."

"We don't get paid to think, Ilse!"

…

Eren Yeager stared at the stars above, the grass below him felt cool to the touch.

He couldn't sleep.

A fair bit of 104th was going across the Gate, him included.

_It's going to get complicated. Interviews, pictures, cameras, reporters like crazy from all over... We'll try to keep it as controlled as possible, but people will see you and ask questions that may not make you comfortable._

It was part of a complicated campaign to gain support for what many were seeing as an upcoming inevitable war between Paradis and… the rest of the world.

Eren glanced at his hands.

His mind turned to Dina Yeager once more.

_Should I have tried to… no._

He closed his hand and made a fist.

He suspected that he could access the Founder using Dina Fritz and her royal blood.

Oh, he was certain of it.

A part of the teenager screamed that he should do it, see all the memories of his father, not just what he could access with his own titan… a power he still didn't fully control or understand.

Access to the Founder would surely fix that, it would fix a lot.

He thought about the likely possibility that the Americans would be unable to give them all the support they needed to fight off a combined attack by the forces of their world.

Would the Americans give them massive bombs like the ones they used to defeat Rod?

Probably not…

Which means…

He turned to look south, where Wall Maria would be.

The millions of titans within it could be unleashed in theory if he simply touched Dina Fritz, right?

He shook his head slowly.

_I can't… that's… that's what?_

Wrong?

Was it wrong to use the weapons you had at your disposal to defeat the enemy that wants to kill you?

Was it wrong to use the weapons you had at your disposal to defeat the enemy that wants to kill those you hold dear?

He turned back to the funeral earlier in the week.

He glanced at his hands once more.

_But that can't be the solution…_

He thought back to the history books the Americans had brought forward.

So often had nations gone to war out of a perceived wrong that had happened decades or centuries prior.

At the end of the day, the only way peace could theoretically be achieved would be to kill everyone, and even then…

Odds were animals would still fight each other in order to survive.

He glanced at the massive looming structure of the Gate not too far away.

The other world was… mostly peaceful.

There were wars, but not all over the place.

There was fighting, but not every day.

There was hatred, centuries old hatred, but not encouraged by everyone or everywhere, even by those who believed it was justified.

_Can I achieve the same here?_

"Eren!"

He jumped, seeing Mikasa approach him from inside the hospital.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I… yeah, I'm fine. Can't sleep, though." he added with a fake yawn.

The girl nodded, sitting next to him.

"The doctor was worried, but said he doesn't want to bother you."

"So he woke you up to deal with me?"

"No, I was just worried, too."

Eren frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.

The young pair stared at the stars.

"You feeling better?" he asked her.

Mikasa nodded, holding on to her scarf, lifting it slightly over her mouth.

Eren sighed.

"I think Dina can be trusted." he said after a moment.

The girl glanced at him, confused.

"As in… I think she would trust us more than trust the Americans."

Mikasa didn't say anything.

Eren didn't say anything, letting the implication sink in.

"We won't have to think about that for a while, though… we should get some sleep." Eren finally said.

"Eren."

"Yeah?"

The girl paused.

"Don't do anything drastic over there."

The teenager frowned, saying "Come on, I'm not some little kid that needs to be babysat."

"I just don't want to lose you in a world with seven billion inhabitants…"

"Well…"

"The city is on an island with millions of people, all packed together… if we get separated, and you get in trouble… can you promise me you'll come find me?"

Eren paused staring at the girl.

Pehraps to shut her up or for his own reasons, he simply said "Fine, I promise."

"Good." the girl said simply, continuing to look at the stars.

…

General Calvi was a tired man.

He had helped stabilize the country as it expanded out into the world, conquering the lands that had once belonged to the old Eldian Empire.

Now he helped oversee the military development and had been more than delighted when news of possible terrorists had been confirmed to be headed to their border with the Mid-East Alliance.

It was the perfect excuse to test out how a titan under the control of a certain someone would compare to five regular titans.

The Eldian crimnals had been chosen with little care, rapists and murderers all of them and one had been injected with the spinal fluid of one of the titan shifters under the control of Marley.

Zeke Yeager, had been more than willing to go along with the experiment, of course, and he had done remarkably well.

As he hopped out of the car and headed to the command post, he turned to Zeke who trailed dutifully behind him.

"Tragedy aside, we did well enough this week. Even after losing its head, your titan pushed forward and slaughtered enemy forces. It even took care of the other titans for us, which was a nice touch."

Zeke Yeager nodded.

"Of course… there lies the problem with the Mid-East bastards lying to us. I thought something was wrong when they used outdated rifles to fight titans. Any military commander knows that you need more than small arms to be an effective threat in this day and age. The women and children present didn't help matters."

"There was the explosive they used." Zeke added.

"Bah, that was a fuel tank that they probably dumped bullets into or something along those lines. A grenade, perhaps, but certainly not a demolition charge like we warned they had. Explosion was too small…"

Zeke nodded.

"Well, that will be up to the diplomats to sort out… I classify this experiment a success. You are probably the most valuable Warrior we have, Zeke."

"Thank you, sir."

Once inside the command center, he walked over to the radio man.

"Did our friends give an answer?"

The Radio man simply said "To quote them, General, _they're just Eldians, you made the world a better place. _The Mid East Alliance didn't give more details if they lied or not and our diplomats are still demanding they stop sending unwanted Eldians into our territory, but no news on that front."

Calvi sighed.

"Alright, thank you, lieutenant… Yeager, please come to my office."

_Tensions are growing with the small group of nations to the east…_

Once inside the relatively bare office of the General, the man sat behind his desk and offered Zeke a place to sit.

The man glanced at the window before turning to Yeager to speak.

"I wish I was wrong, but I have seen tensions like this explode into all-out war more often than not, Zeke. The Mid East keeps abusing its Eldian population, which forces the poor bastards to flee across miles of desert in our direction. Now that's their problem, but they keep dragging us into it, probably to provoke a response in order to feel justified in declaring war."

Zeke nodded.

"There are rumors of them developing better weapons recently, but nothing that we have been able to substantiate as of yet… regardless, it is better to err on the side of caution, is it not?"

"Yes, General. Although I would admit that sometimes you need to take a risk." Zeke stated.

"A risk indeed… sometimes they pay off. You risked your life coming forward that day, but you saved your grandparents and yourself, and look at you now… probably our most valuable soldier. The Middle Eastern nations are taking a risk with these actions as well, which can mean one of two things."

Zeke said "Either they are prepared for an all-out war with us, or they are more foolish than we give them credit for."

The general chuckled slightly.

"Yes and… and this leads me to the orders we received recently. See, our younger batch of Warriors hasn't checked in for some time…"

* * *

**A/N: Shorter chapter, more of a setup for the next arc and all the drama that entails… by the way, to clarify, I think we are currently around the start of the Female Titan arc timeline wise. As in, this version of Uprising took place around the time of Eren's trial if not a little later and the diplomatic mission to the US is happening around the time that the expedition to capture the Female Titan happened in the main series.**

**That's why Zeke is just now heading over to Paradis.**

**OH! Important! I really would like for you guys, the readers, to put in questions you would like or expect to see congressmen ask the Commanders, both American and Eldian of how things have been handled. As I said in chapter 1, I am not a soldier or an expert on these things, so a hearing about military matters isn't my fortitude despite the research I do for my writing.**

**Anyway, on to the response!**

**Guest- giving Historia a proper love interest?**

**Easier said than done.**

**Historia is a bit of a mystery when it comes to love interests. Sure, I think we can all agree she cared for Ymir, but it is kind of ambiguous how far it went for Historia. I know Isayama mentioned once a long time ago that he was writing them as a couple, but I never saw Historia really reciprocate the way one would think if she was in love with Ymir. She definitely cared for her, but she never seemed to go as far as Ymir did, even when Ymir's final words to her were "My only regret is that I didn't marry you" her reply was a sad "Ymir, you idiot." which can be taken in MANY ways… then there is the current situation in the manga and… yeah, I don't know.**

**Let's just put that in the backburner for the time being, okay?**

**Will Nanaba be making an appearance?**

**Probably, since the Survey Corps has (ironically) taken less casualties than the Military Police in this fic, she should make an appearance later on.**

**Anyway, that's it for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it, but if there is anything that you think could be done better or needs fixing please let me know! I really appreciate it as it helps me write better stories. **

**Thank you so much for reading! Hopefully I will have the next chapter out soon!**


End file.
